Joe Biden on mail bombs: We have to put this country back together again
After two suspicious packages addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden were found Thursday morning, Biden commented on the matter at recent public appearances in Buffalo.
"We've got to get off this hate machine. We've got to come together," Biden said later inside a suburban Buffalo restaurant, where he stopped by to show support for a New York congressional candidate ahead of a speech at the University at Buffalo.
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Biden and Democrat Nate McMurray, a town supervisor of Grand Island, ate pancakes and spoke with patrons and staff, the Associated Press reported.
"I hope this has been enough of a shockwave to say, 'OK, enough is enough,'" he said.
During an event at the University at Buffalo Thursday night, Biden elaborated.
"Folks, we don’t yet have all the facts yet and we don't know who is behind this or why they are doing it," Biden said. "But, as my mother used to say, 'Out of something bad, Joey, something good will come if you look hard enough for it.'
"My hope is that this recent spate of these — who knows exactly what they were — these pipe bombs being mailed might wake everybody in my business up a bit and realize that we have to begin to put this country back together again."
The news of the two suspicious packages came a day after a number of high-profile Democratic leaders and supporters were targeted nationwide.
The FBI confirmed in a tweet that the packages addressed to Biden, and another sent to actor Robert De Niro, were similar to the crude pipe bombs sent on Wednesday to former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, among others.
Authorities said Wednesday's pipe bombs were packed with shards of glass and were intercepted. None detonated, and no one was hurt, USA Today reported.
The packages bearing Biden's addresses were found in two Delaware post offices Thursday morning, one at Quigley Boulevard near New Castle and another at Lancaster Avenue in Wilmington, law enforcement officials confirmed.
Biden's visit to New York Thursday comes as reports show the former VP is still mulling over the decision to run for president in 2020.
"I think about whether or not I should run based on very private decisions relating to my family and the loss of my son and what I want to do with the rest of my life," Biden said, during a recent sit down with CBS "This Morning."
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According to Biden spokesman Bill Russo, the event at the University at Buffalo was previously scheduled. It was unclear if Biden was in Delaware or traveling when reports of the parcels surfaced.
The university said it was implementing extra security measures for Biden's speech because of the package bombs addressed to him — which were among 10 pipe bombs sent to prominent critics of President Donald Trump.
"This division, this hatred, this ugliness — it has to end," Biden said at the university. "Words matter."
After quoting Irish poet William Butler Yeats, Biden continued, "I've never, ever, ever looked at a political opponent as an enemy. They are an opponent in a contest of ideas, but not an enemy.
"We are Americans before we are Democrats or Republicans or independents."
Suspicious Packages:
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How to identify a suspicious package, and what to do with it
The Associated Press, Esteban Parra, Andrew Sharp, Jeanne Kuang, Jessica Bies, Meredith Newman and Brittany Horn contributed to this report.
Contact Matt Moore at (302) 324-2829, mmoore@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @MattKenMoore.