--- title: Obama on Nice Attack: 'We Cannot Let Ourselves Be Divided' description: U.S. President Barack Obama responded to the Nice attack Friday, urging unity in the wake of the grisly truck attack that left 84 dead. canonical: https://time.com/4408660/president-obama-nice-attack-terrorism/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-15T19:35:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:17:57.919Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama on Nice Attack: 'We Cannot Let Ourselves Be Divided' og:description: "We cannot let ourselves be divided by religion" og:url: https://time.com/4408660/president-obama-nice-attack-terrorism/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21f6e1e5d52263d4/69889c233c163960a245e0e8/obama_nice.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3027 og:image:height: 1703 og:image:alt: Barack Obama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama on Nice Attack: 'We Cannot Let Ourselves Be Divided' twitter:description: "We cannot let ourselves be divided by religion" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21f6e1e5d52263d4/69889c233c163960a245e0e8/obama_nice.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama on Nice Attack: 'We Cannot Let Ourselves Be Divided' > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jul 15, 2016 7:35 PM UTC  President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about the attack in Nice, France, Friday, July 15, 2016, during a Diplomatic Corps Reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about the attack in Nice, France, Friday, July 15, 2016, during a Diplomatic Corps Reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Carolyn Kaster—AP  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jul 15, 2016 7:35 PM UTC U.S. President Barack Obama responded to the [Nice attack](http://time.com/4407407/nice-france-truck-attack-what-we-know/?xid=homepage) Friday, urging unity in the wake of the grisly [truck attack](http://time.com/4407732/isis-truck-nice-attack/?iid=sr-link4) that left at least 84 dead in France and warning that Americans “cannot let ourselves be divided” by the attacks. “I know I speak for all of us when I say that these individuals and these networks are an affront to all of our humanity,” Obama said, speaking at the Diplomatic Corps Reception in the White House. In the speech, he reiterated support for the United States and France’s Muslim allies, saying that “Islam a religion that teaches peace and justice and compassion.” Seeming to respond to former House Speaker [Newt Gingrich’s call](http://time.com/4407756/newt-gingrich-muslims-sharia-law/?iid=sr-link1) Friday morning to deport all Muslims in the U.S. who believe in Shari‘a law, Obama also called for solidarity across religions. “In the wake of last night’s attack, we’ve heard more suggestions that more Muslims in America be targeted, tested for their beliefs… The very suggestion is repugnant and affront to everything we stand for as Americans,” the President said. “We cannot let ourselves be divided by religion, because that’s exactly what the terrorists want.” Obama then alluded to fatal shooting of five police officers in Dallas, exactly one week prior to the Nice attack, which was preceded by the killings of two black men by police. “It’s been a difficult several week here in the United States,” Obama said. “But the divide that exists is not between races and ethnicities and religions. It is between people who recognize the common humanity of all people and are willing to build institutions that promote that common humanity, and those who do not.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4408660/president-obama-nice-attack-terrorism/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4408660/president-obama-nice-attack-terrorism/"},"headline":"President Obama on Nice Attack: 'We Cannot Let Ourselves Be Divided'","datePublished":"2016-07-15T19:35:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:17:57.919Z","description":"\"We cannot let ourselves be divided by religion, because that’s exactly what the terrorists want\"","url":"https://time.com/4408660/president-obama-nice-attack-terrorism/","keywords":["White House","France"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21f6e1e5d52263d4/69889c233c163960a245e0e8/obama_nice.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21f6e1e5d52263d4/69889c233c163960a245e0e8/obama_nice.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Barack Obama","caption":"Barack Obama","creditText":"Carolyn Kaster—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4408660/president-obama-nice-attack-terrorism/","name":"President Obama on Nice Attack: 'We Cannot Let Ourselves Be Divided'"}}]}] ```