Donald Trump rally shooting: world leaders condemn political violence

Leaders from around the world have condemned the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania, denounced political violence and wished Trump a quick recovery.

Trump posted on social media that he had been shot in the upper part of his right ear and that there was “much bleeding”, His campaign said he was “doing well” and confirmed he had been discharged from the hospital and had returned to his home in New Jersey. A video of him getting off a plane unaided was posted by an aide.

A spokesperson for the UN secretary general, António Guterres, condemned the shooting and called it an “act of political violence.”

Reaction came throughout the night, from leaders who have not always seen eye to eye with Trump and others who are viewed as his close allies.

Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, condemned the attack as “abhorrent”, adding: “Such acts of violence threaten democracy,” while President Emmanuel Macron of France called it a “tragedy for our democracies”, adding that “France shares the shock and indignation of the American people.”

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, condemned the attack. “Once again, we are witnessing unacceptable acts of violence against political representatives,” the bloc’s top diplomat said.

Earlier Joe Biden, the US president and Trump’s opponent in the November election, said everyone must condemn political violence. He said he was “grateful” to know that Trump was safe and that he was praying for him and his family. “There is no place for this kind of violence in America,” he said. “We must unite as one nation to condemn it. It’s sick, it’s sick”. It was confirmed that Biden had spoken to Trump after the attack.

The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said he was “appalled by the shocking scenes” at the rally. “Political violence in any form has no place in our societies and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack,” he said.

The Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, said: “We must stand firm against any form of violence that challenges democracy.”

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he was “appalled”. “Never should violence prevail,” he said, adding, “I wish America emerges stronger from this.”

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the shooting was “concerning and confronting”, while Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, said on social media that he was “sickened” to hear of the shooting. “It cannot be overstated – political violence is never acceptable,” he wrote.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the shooting left him shocked.

The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, who met Trump at his Florida residence two days before the rally while visiting the US for a Nato summit, said his prayers were with the former president “in these dark hours”.

The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said she was “following with apprehension” updates from Pennsylvania and wished Trump a speedy recovery. She expressed her hope that “in the following months of the electoral campaign, dialogue and responsibility can prevail over hate and violence.”

The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, called Trump a friend and wished him a speedy recovery while saying: “Strongly condemn the incident. Violence has no place in politics and democracies.”

The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, called the shooting unacceptable and urged others to condemn it. “The attack against former president Donald Trump must be vehemently repudiated by all defenders of democracy and dialogue in politics. What we saw today is unacceptable.”

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico, described by Trump as a leader “I like and respect”, described the attack as “irrational and inhumane”. Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, said the attack was “a critical example of what we are exposed to every day”, in reference to the killing last year of the Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was killed by gunmen on motorbikes.

Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, who has often described Trump as his leadership idol, shared a flurry of supportive posts on social media, writing himself that he wished Trump “all my support and solidarity”, and describing him as the victim of a “cowardly assassination attempt”.