Article snippet: WASHINGTON — President Trump, a political agitator pressed into the unfamiliar new role of soothing a nation, called for bipartisan unity in his first statement responding to the shooting Wednesday morning of a congressman and three others on a suburban Virginia baseball diamond. Mr. Trump, known for on-air improvisation and flouting presidential convention, approached this early test of his leadership with a gravity and sense of focus not seen since his well-received address to a joint session of Congress in February, when he called for a new era of bipartisan cooperation. The president followed the dignified script established by his predecessors as mass shootings have become more prevalent over the past decade, delivering a solemn two-minute statement in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House during which he appeared shaken by what he called “a very brutal, brutal assault.” Yet Mr. Trump is not a typical president coping with a crisis at a time of settled civility. Moving beyond the confrontational, personal, rhetorically violent and at times divisive tone he has infused in politics will be no easy task. Mr. Trump steered clear of the possible political motivations of the gunman, at least during his first official response, amid reports that the suspect, James T. Hodgkinson, was a supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders who channeled his deep resentments of Republican lawmakers practicing for the annual congressional baseball game. “Everyone on that fie... Link to the full article to read more