The president sought to rally support among black voters in the critical battleground state.
President Joe Biden returned to the campaign trail on July 16 to shore up support among black voters in Nevada, a key battleground state.
This was his first campaign appearance since the assassination attempt on his rival, former President Donald Trump, on July 13.
“It’s time for an important conversation in this country,” the president said in his Las Vegas speech. “Our politics has gotten too heated.”
President Biden addressed a convention held by the civil rights group National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
He urged all Americans to “lower the temperature” and oppose all violence.
“We all have a responsibility,” he said. “Don’t be silent on others.”
However, he stated that lowering the temperature does not mean he should stop telling the truth. He criticized his predecessor’s policies, suggesting that they negatively impacted black communities.
In his 30-minute speech, he emphasized his policies, which he says will benefit black voters, such as investing in childcare, providing high-speed broadband, reducing drug prices, forgiving student loans, and investing $16 billion in historically black colleges and universities.
“Everybody deserves a shot, just a shot, no guarantee. Give hate no safe harbor. Leave no one behind. That’s a stark contrast to my predecessor,” President Biden said before concluding his speech.
The president’s speech in Nevada coincided with the ongoing Republican National Convention this week in Milwaukee, where former President Trump and his vice presidential pick, Ohio Senator JD Vance, were formally nominated as the GOP ticket for the 2024 presidential election.
‘Time to Cool it Down’
On July 14, President Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office, urging Americans to unite after the shooting at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“It’s time to cool it down,” the president said.
The incident in Pennsylvania is the first assassination attempt against a current or former president in more than four decades, with the last taking place in 1981 when then-President Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded in Washington by a lone gunman.
By Emel Akan
