US President Joe Biden has used the formal setting of the White House Oval Office to stress the need for divided Americans to come together after a would-be assassin wounded Republican rival Donald Trump.
Mr Trump's shooting "calls on all of us to take a step back," Mr Biden said.
Thankfully Donald Trump was not seriously injured, he said.
"My fellow Americans, I want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics.. politics must never be a literal battlefield, God forbid a killing field.
"All of us now face the time of testing as the election approaches. The higher the stakes, the more fervent the passions become," he added.
"No matter how strong, our convictions must never descend into violence... It's time to cool it down."
He said Americans must stand together and remember they are not enemies but friends, neighbours, co-workers and citizens.
During the animated and heartfelt address, Mr Biden said a former president was shot and an American citizen killed for simply exercising his freedom to support the candidate of his choosing.
"We cannot, we must not go down this road in America," he said.
He then listed recent examples of political violence - of members of congress of both parties being shot, the hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband and the attempted assassination of Mr Trump.
He said the political rhetoric in the US had gotten very heated and everyone in the US a responsibility to cool it down.
Read more: Follow live developments in the US as Donald Trump arrives for Republican convention
Pledging to continue to stand for the defence of democracy, Mr Biden said the power to change America should always rest in the hands of the people, not in the hands of would be assassin.
It was Mr Biden's third use of the formal setting of the Oval Office to comment on issues of major importance to Americans since he took power in 2021.
Mr Biden's appearance allowed him to demonstrate the power of incumbency, an important symbolic image as he battles some in his own Democratic Party who want the 81-year-old leader to step aside from seeking re-election, out of concerns that he lacks the mental acuity for another four-year term.
Last October, he made a prime time speech to comment on the Gaza and Ukraine conflicts and in June of 2023, he spoke when a deal was reached with Republicans to avoid a breach of the US debt ceiling.
Join me as I address the nation from the Oval Office. https://t.co/0lbRNEt6OH
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 15, 2024
Gun violence is a fact of life in the United States. However, political violence is far rarer. Four US presidents have been assassinated and several escaped assassination attempts. Multiple presidential candidates have been shot, some fatally.
Mr Biden and his team are trying to chart a course for his campaign in the wake of the shooting of Mr Trump, the former president who Mr Biden considers a threat to American democracy should he be elected on 5 November.
The campaign called off verbal attacks on the former president to focus instead on the future.
Within hours of Saturday's shooting, Mr Biden's campaign was pulling down television ads and suspending other political communications.
Meanwhile Mr Trump has landed in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention.
Mr Trump had insisted he would stick to his schedule for the convention despite the shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania which left one bystander dead, two wounded, and Mr Trump himself nicked in the ear by what he said was a "whizzing" bullet.
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Additional reporting by Sean Whelan.
