President Donald Trump has decried the threat of political violence and called on the media to end its "hostility", hours after authorities intercepted bombs sent to a news network and prominent Democrats who have been the targets of some of his sharpest barbs.
Trump's pleas for harmony came as law enforcement officials scrambled to find the perpetrator of the thwarted bomb attacks against former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, CNN and others.
The scripted message was a dissonant one for the president, who has repeatedly blasted his political opponents as criminals and argued they will destroy the country if they win control of Congress in the midterms.
"We want all sides to come together in peace and harmony," he said at a campaign rally in Wisconsin on Wednesday.
"Any acts or threats of political violence are an attack on our democracy itself."
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
The president noted the unusually subdued tone of his remarks.
"By the way, do you see how nice I'm behaving tonight?" he said. "Have you ever seen this?"
Law enforcement authorities have ascribed no motive to the crime. Still, it has prompted immediate debate over whether increasingly hard-edged rhetoric has contributed to a potentially dangerous political climate.
Trump critics have blamed him for the tone. The president did not take any responsibility in Wisconsin.
Those "engaged in the political arena" must "stop treating political opponents as being morally defective", he said.
He also referenced high-profile incidents in which conservatives have been accosted in restaurants and public spaces by political critics.
"The media also has a responsibly to set a civil tone and to stop the endless hostility and constant negative and oftentimes false attacks and stories," Trump said.
Trump has frequently labelled stories he doesn't like as "fake news" and many reporters as "enemies of the people".
At a rally in Montana last week, Trump praised Republican Representative Greg Gianforte, who pleaded guilty to assaulting a reporter, saying "any guy that can do a body slam ... he was my guy".
Clinton, who lost to Trump in the 2016 election, said it was a "troubling time" and a "time of deep divisions and we have to do everything we can to bring our country together".
The president's allies have pushed back on the suggestion he contributes to a toxic political atmosphere.
Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, said: "I don't see anything really wrong with the president. He's in a tough position, attacked on all sides, and he ought to be able to express himself."
