Former US President Donald Trump attended the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee on Monday, July 15, to make final preparations for securing the Republican presidential nomination. Just last Saturday, Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, stating that the incident provides an opportunity for the nation to unite. President Biden also called for unity in a televised address.
On Sunday, while en route to Milwaukee, Trump told the Washington Examiner, “This is an opportunity to unite the entire country, even the world. The content of my speech at the RNC will be much different from two days ago.”
According to the New York Post, Trump, during an interview aboard the plane to Milwaukee, said, “I want to work to unify our country. But I don’t know if that’s possible. People are very divided.”
President Biden, in his White House address on Sunday, July 14, said, “America does not tolerate this kind of violence, any violent behavior. That’s it, no exception. We cannot allow this violent behavior to become normalized.”
He added, “The political discourse in this country has become very intense. It’s time to cool things down.” Biden urged Americans to come together.
Biden condemned the assassination attempt and ordered an investigation into the shooting incident that occurred at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. Trump suffered a graze wound to his right ear, one supporter was killed, and two others were injured. Subsequently, a Secret Service agent shot and killed the 20-year-old suspect.
American singer and songwriter Darryl Worley, in an interview with Epoch Times, expressed that his song “Have we forgotten?” is his way of conveying his thoughts after the shooting incident involving Trump. “We need to come together, folks, we better do it now.”
“Were we forgettin’ who we are?” Worley wrote in the lyrics, “When we can still sit and agree, Common Good is our harmony, have we forgotten?”
In response to the shooting incident on Saturday, former Army Chief of Staff, public speaker, and author of the book “Resilient Transition,” Saeed Mustafa, said in an interview with the Epoch Times, “Violence against anyone, especially political figures, is unacceptable, unforgivable. Therefore, it’s time for us Americans to unite.”
“It’s time to stop spreading negative energy in our speech. Now is the time to come together for a common goal, which is to make our country strong. It doesn’t matter which political camp you stand in. Even with differences, it’s not wrong because this is America, but differences won’t make you see the other side as enemies.”
He continued, “Now we all have the opportunity to think, to think about how we can be better people tomorrow. How can we become better politicians, better fathers, better mothers, better citizens? How can we unite and move forward like the United States of America?”
Mustafa, who took part in the Gulf War, the Somalia conflict, and two Iraq Freedom actions, twice awarded the Bronze Star medal, shared some suggestions following his reflection. “First and foremost, everyone must ensure they become better. You can’t control others but you can control yourself. Let’s think positively.”
“Let’s be more forgiving towards each other. Let’s spread kindness. Let’s ponder on the issues plaguing our country and how we can make it better, let’s seriously discuss how to overcome some of these challenges.”
“Regardless of the circumstances, we can have serious debates, but we don’t need to demonize each other.”