United States President Joe Biden called his Republican presidential rival Donald Trump last night after he did shot in the ear and wounded in what White House authorities say is an assassination attempt.
“Tonight, President Biden spoke with former President Trump. “The president also spoke with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy,” a White House official said.
The US president, who condemned the attack in a televised statement shortly after the attack, returned to Washington from Delaware earlier than planned shortly after midnight.
The White House said the president is receiving updated reports from Homeland Security and law enforcement officials responsible for the investigation, which is being treated as an assassination attempt and is being handled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The shooting last Saturday of former US President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania has unleashed a wave of rejection and solidarity with the Republican candidate for the White House, from the current president and rival in the election race, Democrat Joe Biden; to former ruler Barack Obama and the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, via the presidents of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and Argentina, Javier Milei, and billionaire Elon Musk.
Biden: 'There is no place for this kind of violence; 'We must unite'
US President Joe Biden was among the first to speak out, expressing relief that Trump is out of danger. “I'm glad to know you're safe and doing well. I'm praying for him and his family and everyone who was at the rally,” Biden said in a statement.
He also strongly condemned the act of violence, stating: “There is no place for this kind of violence in the United States. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.” However, he avoided describing it as attempted murder: “I have an opinion on it, but no data.”
Former President Barack Obama also issued a statement stressing the need to maintain civility in politics: “Everyone should be relieved that they were not seriously injured, and take this moment to renew our commitment to civility and respect in politics.”
In Congress, both Democrats and Republicans unanimously condemned the attack.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, said on X (formerly Twitter): “This horrific act of violence at a peaceful campaign rally has no place in this country and must be unanimously condemned.”
In turn, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries thanked security services for their swift response and reaffirmed: “The United States is a democracy. Political violence of any kind is never acceptable.”
Josep Borrell, “shocked by the news”
From Brussels, the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, was “shocked” by the attack and strongly condemned the act: “Shocked by the news of the attack on President Trump, which I strongly condemn. “Once again, we are witnessing unacceptable acts of violence against political representatives.”
In Spain, both the president of the government, Pedro Sánchez, and King Felipe VI and the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, have written messages on their social networks to condemn the attack. “I want to express my strongest condemnation of the attack suffered by Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. “Violence and hatred have no place in a democracy,” Sánchez said on Sunday in a publication about relatives of the deceased aide.
The head of state, King Felipe VI, issued a statement addressed to former President Donald Trump, in which he declared himself “shocked by the terrible attack” and sent him his “solidarity”, in which he also included Queen Letizia. “My strongest condemnation of any act of violence, especially when it is directed against the values of democracy”, said the monarch, who also wished a “full recovery” for Trump and the injured, and expressed his condolences to the family of the aide who died in the attack.
For his part, the leader of the Popular Party deplored the attack, attributing it to the result of “inciting hatred against those who think differently.” Feijóo claimed “moderation” in his message, lamenting that “there are people who prefer to shoot rather than vote to defend their ideology.” “And of course, I wish Donald Trump a speedy recovery,” he concluded in his message.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, acting president of the EU Council, expressed his support for Trump in X: “My thoughts and prayers are with President @realDonaldTrump in these dark hours.”
Orbán met Trump last Thursday, after attending the NATO summit in Washington and a controversial tour of Kiev, Moscow and Beijing that caused discomfort among the European Union (EU) and the Atlantic Alliance for not consulting earlier.
From Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “disgusted” by the attack on the former president.
“We can't say it more often: political violence is never acceptable,” Trudeau stressed, expressing solidarity with Trump and all Americans.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a friend of Trump and who was also attacked on September 6, 2018, at a rally in the city of Juiz de Fora when he was a presidential candidate, expressed his solidarity and wished Trump a speedy recovery: “Our solidarity with the greatest world leader of our time. We hope for his speedy recovery.”
Meanwhile, Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called for the attack to be rejected: “The attack must be firmly rejected by all defenders of democracy and dialogue in politics.”
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, for his part, also condemned the attack: “Be that as it may, we condemn what happened to former President Donald Trump. The violence is irrational and inhumane,” he said.
Argentine President Javier Milei, who has close ties to Trump, strongly condemned the attack: “The bullet that grazed his head is not only an attack on democracy, but on all of us who defend and inhabit the free world,” he claimed.
From Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro rejected the attack and wished Trump “health and long life”: “On behalf of all of Venezuela, I want to reject and renounce the attack on President Donald Trump and wish him a speedy recovery. “We have been adversaries, but I wish President Trump health and long life.”
Similarly, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also strongly condemned the assassination attempt on former US President and White House candidate Trump and wished him a speedy recovery. “I am deeply concerned about the attack on my friend, former President Donald Trump. I strongly condemn the incident. Violence has no place in politics or democracies,” Modi said on the social network X.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also expressed himself in this sense, considering the attempted assassination of the former US president as “a tragedy” for democracies and also wishing for a “rapid improvement” for the Republican candidate.
For his part, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in his initial reaction to the attack, said he felt “shocked” by the attack and condemned “all forms of political violence.” From Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hoped that in the United States “in the coming months of the election campaign, dialogue and responsibility can prevail over hatred and violence.”
Díaz-Canel links the attack to “the arms trade”
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel linked the incident to the arms trade and political violence in the United States: “The arms trade and the escalation of political violence in the United States lead to incidents like the one that took place this Saturday in that country.”
Billionaire Elon Musk took the opportunity to express his support for the Republican presidential candidate and ask people to vote for him in the next election: “I fully support President Trump and I hope he recovers quickly,” he said.
Former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner expressed solidarity with Trump, recalling her own experience of political violence following the assassination attempt she suffered: “All my solidarity with the former President of the United States and current candidate Donald Trump for the attack he suffered a few years ago hours in the state of Pennsylvania.”
Fernández de Kirchner was the victim of a frustrated attack on September 1, 2022, when a man tried to shoot him in the head while he was greeting his followers in front of his home in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires. The weapon did not fire and the attacker was immediately arrested.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro deplored the incident and expressed her solidarity: “Violence generates more violence. I am sorry for what is happening in the electoral process in the United States. My solidarity with Donald Trump.”
Finally, the Paraguayan government strongly condemned the attack and warned of its negative impact on the US electoral process: “We strongly condemn the attack suffered by former President Donald Trump at a campaign event in Pennsylvania.”
In the same way, the presidents of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, and of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, showed their rejection of the aggression.
“I reject all forms of violence,” Lacalle Pou expressed in a message on his X account, while Peña stressed: “We strongly condemn all acts of violence.”
From Chile, Chancellor Alberto van Klaveren wished the Republican presidential candidate a speedy recovery. “We reject acts of violence that threaten democracy and tolerance. We hope that the United States will conduct a safe and democratic electoral process,” the head of Chilean diplomacy stressed.