In the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania, many world leaders have voiced concern, with Elon Musk revealing two assassination attempts on him within 8 months.
On Saturday, Donald Trump suffered an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in which he was shot in the right ear but was not significantly injured. Hours later, he said on his website Truth Social that the bullet pierced the top of his right ear, and his staff confirmed he was in good health. Despite, the assassination attempt, one rally attendee died in the shootout and two men were seriously injured. The Secret Service said the assailant had been eliminated.
World leaders reacted to the assassination attempt, saying they condemn the attack and that violence in the world is unacceptable.
- US President Biden spoke to former President Trump after a shooting incident at the latter’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, according to the White House. Biden himself stated: “There’s no place in America for this kind of violence – it’s sick, it’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country. We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this.”
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the attack on the shared democratic values of the United States and Australia, saying: “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.”
- French President Emmanuel Macron sent wishes to Trump for a speedy recovery and said the attempted assassination of the president was “a drama for our democracies. France shares the indignation of the American people.”
- Italian President Sergio Mattarella said in a statement the attack was a cause for serious alarm. “Тhe violence that has… started to manifest again in the political sphere is a disconcerting symptom of the deterioration of the civil fabric and of the dangerous refusal of confrontation, dialogue and respect for democratic life,” according to him.
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz posted on X saying the attack was “despicable” and such violent acts threaten democracy. He stated: “My compassionate thoughts are also with the other people who were hurt in the attack.”
- Finnish President Alexander Stubb told X that the attack shocked him and he was glad to hear that Trump seems to be doing well. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre wrote on X that he was saddened by the attack. Both strongly condemned the attack and any act of political violence.
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Radio X that he fully condemns the attempt on Trump’s life and wishes him a speedy recovery on behalf of all the Israeli people, adding that his thoughts are with the victims and their families.
- Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fizo, who himself survived an assassination attempt in May, condemned the shooting in a Facebook post. He drew direct parallels between the two incidents, suggesting that the attack on Trump was the result of a campaign by his political opponents.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was shocked by the news of the shooting, and said there was no justification for such violence. He added that he was glad to know Trump was safe.
- Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a close Trump ally, said it was a “miracle” the former president escaped the assassination attempt.
- British lawmaker Nigel Farage said he was very upset and tried to place much of the blame on the media, which he claimed was against the former president.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was deeply shocked by the shooting at X, adding that political violence has no place in a democracy.
- Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, wrote in her Telegram channel that US lawmakers should use the money they spend on arms supplies to Ukraine “to finance the American police and other services that should ensure law and order within the United States.”
Besides, Taiwan President Lai Chinde, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, South Korean President Yun Suk-yeol, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer also expressed their concern over the assassination attempt on Trump and wished him a speedy return.
Elon Musk urges Secret Service head to resign
Elon Musk, billionaire, CEO of Tesla and owner of social media platform X, has revealed that he has suffered two attempts on his life in the past eight months. The information came to light after Musk’s assassination attempt on Trump. However, he has previously stated that he is under the threat of assassination almost always. In 2022, he accused tech journalists of spreading his current location and banned their X accounts. The reason for the blocking was journalists’ coverage of the now-banned account, which used publicly available flight records to inform subscribers where Musk’s private jet was flying.
Following the incident at Trump’s rally, Musk announced his support for the Republican, saying, “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” calling for the head of the Secret Service to resign, calling Saturday’s shooting “extreme incompetence” or “deliberate.”
So far, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified the shooter involved in the attempted assassination as Thomas Matthew Crooks. It further stated that the investigation into the shooting incident is ongoing. FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Pittsburgh office, Kevin Royek, said it was “surprising” the shooter was able to fire multiple shots during a rally in Butler. He also said there will be a lengthy investigation into exactly what happened, how the man was able to gain access to the venue and what type of weapon he had.
