World leaders, including many who had been critical of former President Donald Trump and his policies, were quick to express sympathy for Mr. Trump and condemn the assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
The reactions poured in on social media from conservative leaders sympathetic to Mr. Trump such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but also some from those who had clashed bitterly with Mr. Trump during his term in office.
“We’ve been adversaries, but I wish President Trump good health and long life,” said socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. “I repudiate that attack. May God bless the people of the U.S. and give them peace and calm.”
Leaders of major U.S. allies expressed horror as news of the shooting spread.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he welcomed the news that the presumptive Republican nominee had apparently not been seriously wounded in the shooting, saying, “There is no place for violence in the democratic process. I am relieved to hear reports that former President Trump is now safe.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on social media he was “sickened” by news of the attack, while Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he was “praying” for Mr. Trump’s “speedy recovery.”
New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a statement said he was “appalled” by the news, adding, “Political violence in any form has no place in our societies and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack.”
One attendee of the rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, was killed in the shooting, and two others were critically injured.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in her own social media post Saturday evening, wrote: “My solidarity and my best wishes for a speedy recovery go to [Mr. Trump] with the hope that the next few months of the electoral campaign will see dialogue and responsibility prevail over hatred and violence.”
Some conservative world leaders had a darker take on the attack by the still-unknown assailant.
Argentina’s populist libertarian President Javier Milei shared a post on the social media site X speculating that “globalists” had been seeking to “bring down” politicians such as Mr. Trump for a long time.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• David R. Sands can be reached at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
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