Quick Hit:

Less than 48 hours after calling on Americans to "lower the temperature" in an Oval Office address, President Biden and his campaign are once again calling former President Donald Trump a threat to democracy. 

Key Details:

• As Trump announced his running mate Monday afternoon, Biden's campaign chair, Jen O'Malley Dillon, accused Trump of choosing Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate because Vance would support Trump's extreme agenda, even if it involved breaking the law.

• Biden's campaign further intensified its rhetoric with a tweet from Biden stating Trump and Vance want to raise taxes on middle-class families while cutting taxes for the rich, calling for support to "protect democracy" and "defeat Trump-Vance."

• The renewed attacks on Trump came soon after Biden's appeal for political civility during his Oval Office address which itself followed a failed assassination attempt on the former president over the weekend.

Diving Deeper:

According to a report by the New York Post, President Biden’s re-election campaign chair, Jen O'Malley Dillon, criticized Donald Trump on Monday, claiming Trump selected Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate because Vance would enable Trump's extreme agenda, even if it meant breaking the law. This fierce attack came just hours after Biden’s Oval Office address, where he called for lowering the temperature in political discourse.

In that address, Biden emphasized the need for political calm and unity, stating, "My fellow Americans, I want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics and to remember, while we may disagree, we are not enemies." This appeal for civility was a stark contrast to the aggressive rhetoric that followed from his campaign.

Biden’s renewed attacks on Trump come amid heightened political tensions and a recent assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, injured Trump and two other attendees, and tragically killed rallygoer Corey Comperatore. In the days leading up to the attempt, Biden had intensified his rhetoric against Trump, including calling him a "dictator" on Twitter and stating Trump would return to power "over my dead body."

In a recent tweet, Biden accused Trump and Vance of wanting to raise taxes on middle-class families while pushing tax cuts for the wealthy. The tweet featured an image of Trump and Vance with the caption, "Protect democracy. Defeat Trump-Vance." This message, coming shortly after Biden’s call for political calm, highlights the ongoing and intensifying rhetoric from Biden’s campaign.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended Biden's recent comments, stating that the president’s critiques of Trump focus on policy and leadership issues, not personal attacks. "Violence has no place in America," Jean-Pierre asserted.