Biden: ‘We resolve differences at the ballot box, politics must never be a literal battlefield’

US President Joe Biden says “we can’t, we must not go down” the road of political violence in American after the attempted Trump assassination.

In a prime-time national address, Biden says that political passions can run high but “we must never descend into violence.”

“We can do this,” Biden implores, saying the nation was founded on a democracy that gave reason and balance a chance to prevail over brute force. “American democracy — where arguments are made in good faith. American democracy where the rule of law is respected. Where decency, dignity, fair play aren’t just quaint notions, they’re living, breathing realities.”

Biden speaks for about five minutes from the Oval Office and notes that the Republican National Convention is opening in Milwaukee on Monday, while he himself will be traveling the country to campaign for reelection.

He says that during the RNC, he has “no doubt” Republicans will “criticize my record and offer their own vision for this country.” But he promises in campaigning to lay out “our vision.”

The president says passions will run high on both sides and that the stakes of the election are enormous.

But he adds, “it’s time to cool it down” and notes not just the weekend attack on Trump but also the possibility of election-year violence on multiple fronts.

He used the address to urge all Americans not to accept an escalation in political violence as normal.

“We debate and disagree, we compare and contrast … but in America we resolve our differences at the ballot box,” Biden says in his address.

He adds: “Politics must never be a literal battlefield. God forbid a killing field.”