For months, the message from the White House and Wilmington was as stark as it was simple: This year's election amounts to an existential choice between a defender of democracy and a destroyer of democracy. Nothing less than the future of America is at stake.
But the images of Mr. Trump with blood streaked across his face after being grazed by a would-be assassin's bullet raise the question of how far language should go in a heated campaign. Mr. Biden, who has long preached unity and civility, conceded on Monday that it was a mistake to tell supporters a week ago that he wanted to put Trump in a bull's-eye, an expression that was certainly metaphorical but opened the president to criticism after his opponent found himself in literal crosshairs.
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