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World leaders send prayers to Trump after shooting

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International figures reacted to the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday night that left the former president and likely Republican presidential nominee injured and a civilian and the shooter killed.

Newly elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer posted on X that he was “horrified by the shocking scenes at President Trump’s rally” and sent him his best wishes. “Political violence in any form has no place in our societies,” Starmer continued, “and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said his thoughts were with Donald Trump after the White House candidate was shot at a rally, adding that the shooting was a “tragedy for our democracies.”

“I send him my wishes for a speedy recovery. One spectator has died, several are injured. It is a tragedy for our democracies. France shares the shock and indignation of the American people,” Macron said on Sunday on the social media platform X.

Argentine President Javier Milei condemned “the attempted assassination in the strongest possible terms,” according to his official statement.

“The bullet that grazed his head is not only an attack on democracy, it is also an attack on those who defend and live in the free world,” Milei said.

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu meets with then US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in 2020. The suppression of the Palestinian cause in world politics is largely due to Israeli efforts during the Trump administration, the author notes. (Source: TOM BRENNER/REUTERS)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there was “no justification” for the violence. He said he was “relieved” that Trump, who had frequently criticized US military aid to Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, was safe and wished him “a speedy recovery.”

Dutch politician Geert Wilders wrote: “God bless America. God bless the 45th President of the United States,” and Orbán Viktor, the Prime Minister of Hungary, sent his thoughts and prayers “in these dark hours.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “sickened” and expressed his condolences to all Americans. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also sent prayers. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the shooting was “worrying and shocking.”

Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, wrote that she was nervously following the news for updates on Trump and sent him her best wishes for a speedy recovery.

She also expressed her hope that “dialogue and responsibility will prevail over hatred and violence.”

Canadian politician Pierre Poilievre called the incident an “attempted murder” and said that while he was relieved that the former president was safe, his prayers were with the “innocent people who were injured or killed by this heinous act.”

“Democracy must prevail,” he concluded.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called the shooting unacceptable while calling on others to condemn it.

“The attack on former President Donald Trump must be vehemently rejected by all defenders of democracy and dialogue in politics. What we have seen today is unacceptable,” said the Brazilian president.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who met Trump this week at a NATO summit in the United States, said his prayers were with the former president “in these dark hours.”

German Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz called the shooting of Donald Trump at a campaign rally on Saturday a despicable act and described the violent attack as a threat to democracy.

In a post on X, Scholz said: “The attack on US presidential candidate Donald Trump is abhorrent. I wish him a speedy recovery. My thoughts are also with the people affected by the attack. Such acts of violence threaten democracy.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Trump a friend and wished him a speedy recovery. At the same time, he said: “I condemn the incident in the strongest possible terms. Violence has no place in politics and in democracies.”

Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission for a Stronger Europe in the World, condemned the attack and said it was one of a series of “unacceptable acts of violence against political representatives”.

A spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the shooting and called it an “act of political violence.”

Former Iranian Shah Reza Pahlavi tweeted: “Political violence has no place in democracies.”

“I am appalled by what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe,” New York Senator Chuck Schumer – the Democratic Senate Majority Leader – said on X. “Political violence has no place in our country.”

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat who gained national attention in 2018 when a gunman in his then-state legislative district killed 17 people at Parkland High School, said he was “praying for the former president.”

Pennsylvania’s Jewish governor, Democrat Josh Shapiro, said the state police were assisting in the investigation into the attack.

“Violence directed against a political party or political leader is absolutely unacceptable,” he said on X. “It has no place in Pennsylvania or the United States.”

“We can’t settle our differences like this,” he told X. “That’s why crazy people shouldn’t own guns.”

Jewish groups respond to attacks

Several Jewish groups and individuals sent their congratulations to the former president, including Jewish Democrats who said they were “troubled by the shooting at a Trump rally” and declared that “political violence has no place in our country.”

“We wish former President Trump and all those injured or affected by today’s incident a speedy recovery and are grateful to law enforcement for their swift actions,” the group continued.

One of the first Jewish organizations to speak out was the Republican Jewish Coalition, which pledged $5 million to support Trump’s election.

“We pray for Refuah Shlema – a full recovery and healing – for President Trump,” the RJC said in a press release accompanying an Associated Press photo of a bloodied Trump raising his fist in defiance after the shooting. “We know President Trump will return stronger and more determined than ever to Make America Great Again (MAGA).”

“MAGA” is Trump’s campaign slogan. RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks will speak at the convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin next week, where Trump will be officially nominated – a first for the organization.

The lobby group AIPAC tweeted its support for Trump and said it was also “grateful for the courage of the Secret Service employees who risked their lives to protect him.”

The Anti-Defamation League called the shooting “a terrifying moment that reminds us of our fragility” and stressed that violence should not be normalized in a political context.”

The Jewish Federation of North America wrote that it was “horrified” and mourned the victims of this shooting.

The political rhetoric in the United States has been very heated lately and needs to be toned down, Mike Johnson, Republican Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, told MSNBC on Sunday.

RON KAMPEAS/JTA contributed to this report.



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