Politics requires cold, hard, and sometimes heartless calculation. The most experienced politicians see opportunity at every turn. Even the grimmest of circumstances, like the attempted assassination of a former president, presents the chance to change the narrative. As the United States grapples with the shock of the incident, Biden’s response has been under intense scrutiny. Biden’s actions in the aftermath have not only highlighted his leadership but have also provided him with a unique political opportunity.
Since the first presidential debate of this American election cycle, Biden has faced increased criticism from within his own party. As each day passes, calls for his withdrawal and replacement have grown louder.
In the stunning assassination attempt on former U.S. President and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, President Joe Biden sees opportunity. He can prove that he is both capable of leading the nation during a time of crisis, and contrast his handling of his opponent’s attempted assassination, to Trump’s handling of the insurrection on January 6th. The attempt on Trump’s life presents Biden a lifeline that he is not going to give up.
Biden’s reaction was swift and measured. Within hours of the incident, he posted on X that he was “grateful to hear that he was safe and doing well.” Shortly after, he addressed the American electorate in Delaware, and clearly and coherently stated that “there is no place in America for this kind of violence.” The next day, Biden released numerous statements and had multiple television appearances in which he updated the nation on the situation, and repeatedly condemned the attempt on Trump’s life.
On Sunday, he addressed the nation from the Oval Office. Sounding firm yet evoking a sense of compassion for his opponent, he denounced acts of political violence from across the political spectrum. He sounded like a commander-in-chief. Unlike what we’ve seen over the past couple weeks, Biden sounded like an individual capable of leading the most powerful nation in the world during a time of immense crisis.
In the aftermath of heinous political violence, Biden has called on Americans to “resolve our differences at the ballot box.” Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly refused to condemn political violence and has arguably encouraged it with his rhetoric. We mustn’t lose sight of the fact Trump is the reason for the hostile political climate that resulted in his attempted assassination.
Before, during and after the 2020 Presidential election, Donald Trump flamed the fans of extreme partisanship by calling on the proud boys to “stand back and stand by,” and, when he lost, he claimed electoral fraud, and, rather than taking the opportunity to unite a divided nation, refused to attend his successor’s inauguration.
More recently, after the horrendous attack on former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, Trump joked about it, saying that Pelosi’s “got a wall around her house, obviously in that case it didn’t work very well,” further stoking the conspiracy theorists’ various claims about the attack.
During the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol building, he at best did nothing to stop it, and at worst actively encouraged it. He took hours to respond, and only did so under immense pressure from his advisors and those around him. And, in a video statement posted to his twitter account the next day, he attempted to justify his actions leading up to the attack and continued in his claims that the election was stolen.
Biden is right: this upcoming election is the most consequential in recent American history. On the line is American democracy, and during this trying moment Biden is proving himself to be the most capable candidate to protect it. While he certainly sees political opportunity in this moment, he is also genuinely horrified by the state of American politics and is morally outraged by the attempt on Trump’s life. As the nation approaches the election, Biden’s actions during this critical moment could play a significant role in shaping his political legacy.