The shooting at a campaign rally for Donald Trump — which the FBI is investigating as an assassination attempt — sent shock waves around the world, with leaders expressing deep concerns about violence in the American democratic process.
French President Emmanuel Macron called the shooting “a tragedy for our democracies” and said, “France shares the shock and indignation of the American people.”
“I’m sickened by the shooting at former president Trump,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on X. “It cannot be overstated — political violence is never acceptable.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that “political violence in any form has no place in our societies.” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, “It is a warning to everyone, regardless of political affiliation, to restore dignity and honor to politics, against all forms of hatred and violence, and for the good of our democracies.”
Expressions of concern also came from countries that have experienced political violence in recent years.
“We must stand firm against any form of violence that challenges democracy. I pray for former President Trump’s speedy recovery,” said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who had to be evacuated from a campaign event last year after what appeared to be a smoke bomb was thrown at him. In 2022, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed during a campaign event.
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Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called the shooting “unacceptable” and said it should be strongly condemned “by all defenders of democracy and dialogue in politics.” In 2018, Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed during a campaign rally before he became Brazil’s president.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “Such violence has no justification and no place anywhere in the world.” Zelensky, whose country has been invaded by Russia, was the target of foiled assassination plots in 2022, 2023 and 2024, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Other leaders sent well-wishes to Trump. “China is following the shooting incident that ex-President Trump encountered, and President Xi Jinping has expressed sympathy to ex-President Trump,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Sunday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “deeply concerned” for Trump, whom he called his “friend.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “shocked” and is praying for Trump’s “safety and speedy recovery.” Britain’s King Charles III sent a private message to the former president on Sunday, Buckingham Palace said, without specifying the message’s contents.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban expressed “thoughts and prayers” for Trump amid what he called “dark hours.” Orban, Europe’s most prominent far-right leader, has openly endorsed Trump and visited the former president at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Friday.
Some denunciations of the violence came from those who had previously been at odds with Trump. Venezuela’s authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, who once called Trump a “racist cowboy,” wrote on X that “we reject and firmly repudiate the attack.”
However,