2024-07-14 21:00:01
Global leaders expressed concern Sunday over an apparent assassination attempt targeting former U.S. President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania that left one attendee dead and critically injured two others.
Trump’s campaign said the presumptive Republican nominee was doing “fine” after being whisked off the stage though the shooting pierced the upper part of his right ear.
The Secret Service said it killed the suspected shooter who attacked from an elevated position outside the rally venue.
U.S. authorities are still investigating the shooting.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the “inexcusable attack” on the United States and Australia’s shared democratic values.
“In Australia, as in the United States, the essence and the purpose of our democracies is that we can express our views, debate our disagreements and resolve our differences peacefully,” Albanese told reporters in the Australian Parliament House.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on X that he was appalled by the attempt.
“Political violence has no place in our society!” he said.
Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, called the incident unacceptable on X and said the attack must be “strongly repudiated” by all democracy defenders.
His predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who is a close Trump ally, relayed his solidarity with “the world’s greatest leader of the moment.” Bolsonaro was stabbed in the abdomen at a campaign event ahead of the 2018 presidential election, which he went on to win.
Trump, he told reporters, was saved by a matter of a few centimeters. “This — to understand — is something that comes from above,” he added.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was sickened by the shooting and his thoughts were with Trump, those at the event and all Americans.
“It cannot be overstated — political violence is never acceptable,” he wrote on X.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that China is concerned about the attack and President Xi Jinping has already extended his sympathies to Trump.
Wishing Trump a speedy recovery, Czech President Petr Pavel said there’s “no place for violence in a democratic society,” adding that politicians” need to try to calm the situation down.”
Egyptian President Abdelfattah El Sissi stressed his country’s condemnation of the attack in a statement and wished for the U.S. election campaigns to resume peacefully.
French President Emmanuel Macron sent his wishes to Trump for a prompt recovery. “It is a drama for our democracies. France shares the indignation of the American people,” he posted on X.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz posted on X saying the attack was “despicable” and such violent acts threaten democracy. “My compassionate thoughts are also with the other people who were hurt in the attack,” he said.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said his thoughts and prayers were with Trump “in these dark hours” on X.
India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, said he was deeply concerned by “the attack on my friend.”
“Strongly condemn the incident. Violence has no place in politics and democracies,” he wrote on X.
Masrour Barzani, the prime minister of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, condemned the attack “in the strongest terms,” saying on X his thoughts are with the victims of “this senseless act of terrorism.”
At the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he watched “in horror,” adding that the attack was also an “assassination attempt on American democracy.”
He said everyone in Israel was sending Trump wishes for “a quick recovery and return to full strength.”
Italian President Sergio Mattarella said in a statement the attack was a cause for serious alarm and “a disconcerting symptom of the deterioration of the civil fabric and of the dangerous refusal of confrontation, dialogue and respect for democratic life.”
Meanwhile, Premier Giorgia Meloni wished Trump a quick recovery.
“We must stand firm against any form of violence that challenges democracy,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on X.
Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, denounced the attack on X and said “violence is irrational and inhumane.”
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the shooting a “shocking development.” He said he condemned all violence in politics and wished the former president a swift recovery and good health.
And imprisoned Pakistani opposition leader and former prime minister Imran Khan, who was shot and injured at a rally in November 2022, wished Trump a full recovery. “Political violence is a tool of cowards and has no place in a democracy,” he said on X.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans at present to call Trump, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
“We do not at all think or believe that the attempt to eliminate presidential candidate Trump was organized by the current government, but the atmosphere that this administration created during the political struggle, the atmosphere around candidate Trump provoked what America is faced with today,” he added.
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, said earlier Sunday on her Telegram channel that American lawmakers should employ the money they use to supply weapons to Ukraine “to finance the American police and other services which should ensure law and order within the United States.”
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote on X that the attempted assassination of Trump “is a stark reminder of the dangers of political extremism and intolerance.”
Ramaphosa also voiced his hope that “the citizens and leaders of America will have the fortitude and sagacity to reject violence and seek peaceful solutions.”
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who survived an assassination attempt in May, condemned the shooting in a Facebook post. He drew direct parallels between the two incidents, suggesting the attack on Trump was the result of a campaign by his political opponents.
Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, said on X his thoughts and prayers are with Trump, adding that political violence of any form is never acceptable “in our democracies.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the shooting on X, offering his good wishes to Trump, his family and supporters.
He said he believed “the investigation into the attack will be conducted effectively” so as not to undermine the US elections.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X she was deeply shocked by the shooting, adding that political violence has no place in democracy.
Also on X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was appalled to learn about the shooting, saying such violence has no justification. He added he was relieved to learn that Trump is safe.
Zelenskyy extended his wishes for strength to everyone who was horrified by the event.
The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack on Trump, describing it as “a criminal and extremist act.”
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on X that he was appalled by the “shocking scenes,” and sent his best wishes to Trump and his family.
“Political violence in any form has no place in our societies,” he said.
British lawmaker Nigel Farage, a friend of Trump’s, sought to pin much of the blame on the “mainstream media” that he claimed opposed the former president. He told the BBC that it was a “horrendous” incident but somehow he was not shocked by it.
In a statement, the Vatican expressed its concern over “last night’s episode of violence, which hurts people and democracy, causing suffering and death.” Pope Francis didn’t mention the apparent assassination attempt in his weekly prayers earlier.
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Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
