U.S. President Joe Biden delivers an address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on July 14, 2024.
Erin Schaff | Via Reuters
World leaders have joined together to condemn the assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend.
Trump was hit in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. The suspected shooter, identified by the FBI as 20-year Thomas Matthew Crooks, was swiftly killed by Secret Service agents at the scene.
A bystander was also killed, while two other spectators were critically injured.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “sickened by the shooting” and sent his thoughts to Trump and his fellow Americans.
European leaders from G-20 countries such as Germany, France, Italy, extended their concern and best wishes to Trump. The UK’s newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “appalled by the shocking scenes” at the rally, adding that “political violence in any form has no place in our societies.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said on X that the assassination attempt was “a tragedy for our democracies” and his country “shares the indignation of the American people.”
In Asia, China’s foreign ministry said in a statement that President Xi Jinping had expressed sympathies to Trump, while Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida emphasized on the importance of standing firm against violence that challenges democracy.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi — who referred to Trump as “my friend” — said he “strongly” condemned the incident and that “violence has no place in politics and democracies.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reiterated the same, and said the campaign event in Pennsylvania was “concerning and confronting.”
The Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “Russia has always condemned all manifestations of violence,” according to Reuters, reportedly blaming the U.S. administration for creating an environment provoked the attack.
In the U.S., both Republicans and Democrats alike came together to criticize the attack and expressed their well wishes to the former president.
In an Oval Office address on Sunday evening, President Joe Biden emphasized the importance of lowering the temperature in U.S. politics and urged Americans to remember: “We are not enemies. We’re neighbors, we’re friends, co-workers, citizens and most importantly, we’re fellow Americans.”
“The political record in this country has gotten very heated. It’s time to cool it down. We all have responsibility to do that,” Biden said in his address.
“Disagreement is inevitable in American democracy. It’s part of human nature. Politics must never be a battlefield and God forbid, a killing field,” he said, adding that he had a call with Trump who is recovering well.
Vice President Kamala Harris posted on X on Sunday, to say that violence such as this “has no place in our nation” and this “abhorrent act” must be condemned to ensure it does not continue to happen.
Her words echoed those of former President Barack Obama who voiced that there is “absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy” as he wished Trump a speedy recovery.