The News
The news of a deadly shooting during former US president Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday evening shocked leaders across the Americas, while Europe and Asia woke up to what will likely be a dramatically changed US political landscape.
The reaction was a mix of horror at the incident, and questions — and, at times, conspiracy theories — about the state of US democracy. And world leaders, Trump’s allies and critics alike, heatedly denounced the attack.
The View From Europe
Trump’s admirers on the global right were among the first to react to the shooting.
Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán, who recently met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, posted on X: “My thoughts and prayers are with President @realDonaldTrump in these dark hours.”
Dutch politician Geert Wilders posted simply, “#prayfortrump.” The leader of the French far right National Rally party, Jordan Bardella, reacted by saying, “Violence is the poison of any democracy.”
Elsewhere, G7 leaders voiced strong condemnation.
French President Emmanuel Macron described the shooting as ”a tragedy for our democracies,” adding in a post on X: “France shares the shock and indignation of the American people.”
”I express my solidarity and wishes for a speedy recovery, with the hope that the coming months of electoral campaigning see dialogue and responsibility take the upper hand against hatred and violence,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement.
The Holy See at the Vatican expressed “concern” on Sunday in a statement, and said it was a “violent episode which injures people and democracy, provoking suffering and death.”
Newly elected UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer wrote: “I am appalled by the shocking scenes at President Trump’s rally and we send him and his family our best wishes. Political violence in any form has no place in our societies and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack.”
The international editor of German newspaper, Der Spiegel, wrote simply: “We are at a terrible moment in history.”
The View From Asia
Beijing expressed “condolences” in a brief statement issued by the foreign ministry, but speculation proliferated on the messaging platform WeChat over the motives for the attack, as well as its implications for this year’s election. In China, the top comment on a post by the state-run People’s Daily amplified the phrase, “America the free, every day a shooting.” (Some enterprising online sellers quickly began selling souvenir t-shirts about the shooting on the shopping site Taobao, the South China Morning Post reported.)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X, said he was ”deeply concerned by the attack on my friend.” He continued: “Violence has no place in politics and democracies. Wish him speedy recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the deceased, those injured and the American people.”
Japanese leader Fumio Kishida added: ”We must stand firm against any form of violence that challenges democracy. I pray for former President Trump’s speedy recovery.”
The View From Latin America
Javier Milei, the libertarian president of Argentina, took a conspiratorial tone by resharing a post on X that suggested “globalists” who were desperate to “bring down” Trump had tried to kill him. Meanwhile the strongman president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, posted a single word, “Democracy?” to X moments after the incident.
Trump’s critics on the left in the region also denounced the attack. “We’ve been adversaries but I wish President Trump good health and long life,” said Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. “I repudiate that attack. May god bless the people of the U.S. and give them peace and calm.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the attack should be “vehemently repudiated” by defenders of democracy, and the leftist president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, expressed “unqualified condemnation.”
The View From The Middle East
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X: “Sara and I were shocked by the apparent attack on President Trump. We pray for his safety and speedy recovery.”
The View From Russia
Russia called on the US to “take stock” of its “policies of incitement to hatred,” and linked the shooting to Washington’s support for Kyiv’s efforts to repel Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
Notable
- American politicians of both parties immediately condemned the attack.
- Trump’s aides had feared an assassination attempt for years.