President Joe Biden’s address from the Oval Office lasted less than 10 minutes.
In it, he emphasised a message of national unity, saying that it is time to “cool down” the heated political rhetoric in the US.
He stopped short, however, of addressing criticism levelled at him by some Republicans, who accused him of amplifying divisive rhetoric against his rival, Donald Trump, on the campaign trail.
“The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all cost,” said Republican Senator JD Vance from Ohio following the shooting.
“That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination,” he added.
Biden, for his part, has suspended some of his campaign’s activities in the aftermath of the shooting, including reportedly postponing a stop on Monday to the Lyndon B Johnson Library in Austin.
