Netanyahu ‘shocked by apparent attack’ on Trump as world leaders decry violence

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted early Sunday that he was “shocked” after an assassination attempt on former US president Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee in November elections.

Netanyahu said he and his wife, Sara, “were shocked by the apparent attack on President Trump,” adding: “We pray for his safety and speedy recovery.”

Gunshots, which sounded past midnight in Israel, pierced Trump’s ear as he was speaking at an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Three spectators were also hit, one of whom succumbed to their wounds. The assailant, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks Pennsylvania, was also killed. Trump’s campaign and the US Secret Service have said the former US president is fine.

“The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump is greatly troubling and dangerous,” wrote Opposition Leader Yair Lapid on X. “Political violence is an existential threat to democratic systems. I extend my wishes for a speedy recovery to the former president.”

President Isaac Herzog also offered his good wishes on X: “On behalf of all the Israeli people, I wish former president Donald Trump a speedy recovery and condemn utterly and unequivocally the attempt on his life.”

“From Jerusalem we wish him well. Our thoughts are with all those injured, and the family of the spectator killed,” he added.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wished Trump “a speedy recovery and strength” in a statement on X.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the families affected by this event,” Gallant wrote, adding, “We stand with the American people in condemning the violent attempt to shake their great democracy.”

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir wrote, “God bless Trump,” adding a heart emoji. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, another far-right leader, tweeted: “Praying from The Holy Land for President Trump.”

Hardline ministers in Likud claimed that incitement against Netanyahu could lead to similar violence.

“The assassination attempt against President Trump comes after nonstop incitement against him in the US. In Israel, the reality is significantly more dire,” wrote Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi.

“The dire incitement against the prime minister, his wife and his son is closer than ever to being actualized,” said Karhi, adding that the state prosecutor and attorney general were to blame for being lax on the offenders.

Similarly, Transportation Minister Miri Regev wrote: “Sadly, in Israel, too, a dangerous incitement campaign is being waged against Prime Minister Netanyahu and elected officials on the right.”

“Don’t say we didn’t warn you — the writing is on the wall!” said Regev, claiming that violence against Netanyahu was being encouraged by “disgruntled former officials, members of the junta, playing dumb by most of the media, and the silence of the opposition.”

World leaders reacted with shock to the attack, with at least one blaming leftist politicians for it. Moscow, meanwhile, used the assassination attempt to denounce support for Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres “unequivocally” condemned the assassination attempt.

“The Secretary-General unequivocally condemns this act of political violence. He sends his best wishes to President Trump for a speedy recovery,” Guterres spokesman Stephan Dujarric said in a statement.

Beijing’s foreign ministry said: “President Xi Jinping has expressed his condolences to former President Trump.”

Jens Stoltenberg, the outgoing secretary general of NATO — a frequent target of Trump’s ire — wrote on X that he was “shocked by the attempted assassination on former President Trump.”

“I condemn this attack. Political violence has no place in our democracies,” wrote Stoltenberg. “NATO Allies stand together to defend our freedom and values.”

European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote that she is “deeply shocked by the shooting that took place during former President Trump’s campaign rally,” adding: “Political violence has no place in a democracy.”

The bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, also condemned the attack, saying that “[o]nce again, we are witnessing unacceptable acts of violence against political representatives.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he was “appalled by the shocking scenes” at the rally.

“Political violence in any form has no place in our societies,” the newly elected premier said.

“It is a tragedy for our democracies,” French President Emmanuel Macron said of the shooting. “France shares the shock and indignation of the American people.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, writing on X, decried the “despicable” attack on Trump. “I wish him a speedy recovery,” he said. “Such acts of violence threaten democracy.”

Referring to “these dark hours,” Hungary’s nationalist leader Viktor Orban, an outspoken supporter of Trump’s, offered his “thoughts and prayers” to the former US president.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was “following with apprehension” updates from Pennsylvania and wished Trump a speedy recovery.

The right-wing leader expressed her hope that “in the following months of the electoral campaign, dialogue and responsibility can prevail over hate and violence.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “strongly” condemned the assassination attempt.

“I believe that the investigation into the attack will be conducted most effectively to ensure there is no shadow over the US elections and global stability,” said Erdogan, in comments carried by Turkey’s official Andalou agency.

“The perpetrators and masterminds must be brought to justice swiftly,” he said. “As [Turkey], we stand with our friends and allies, the American people.”

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi described the shooting as a “treacherous incident.”

Sissi wished the US “election campaigns to continue in a peaceful and healthy atmosphere, free of any manifestations of terrorism, violence or hatred.”

Argentina’s President Javier Milei blamed the “international left” after the assassination attempt.

“In panic of losing at the polls, they resort to terrorism to impose their backward and authoritarian agenda,” said the rightwing firebrand.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the shooting “must be strongly condemned by all defenders of democracy and political dialogue.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “deeply concerned by the attack on my friend.”

“Violence has no place in politics and democracies,” said Modi.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also spoke out against political attacks, saying that “we must stand firm against any form of violence that challenges democracy.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was “shocked by the terrible scenes” at the Trump campaign event, expressing his relief that the former US president was safe.

“This was an inexcusable attack on the democratic values that Australians and Americans share and the freedom that we treasure,” Albanese said.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was “appalled to learn about the shooting” and wished Trump a “speedy recovery.”

“Such violence has no justification and no place anywhere in the world. Never should violence prevail,” said Zelensky.

Zelensky recently criticized Trump’s comments that Ukraine’s defensive war against Russia was “deadlocked” and that the US was spending too much money on it.

Reacting to the shooting, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova addressed “those who vote in the United States to supply arms” to Ukraine, denouncing support for Kyiv, which she said stoked “attacks against the Russian president.”

Zakharova called on the US to “take stock” of its “policies of incitement to hatred” after the shooting, adding: “Perhaps it would be better to use this money to fund the American police and other services that are supposed to ensure law and order in the United States?”

“When other means of getting rid of troublesome presidents are exhausted, good old Lee Harvey Oswald comes into play,” said Zakharova, referring to the assassination of US president John F. Kennedy in 1963.

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled heir to the Iran’s abolished monarchy and a fierce critic of the Islamic Republic, wrote on X that he is “shocked and dismayed by the assassination attempt on President Trump.”

“Political violence has no place in democracies,” wrote Pahlavi, who on Wednesday addressed the National Conservatism conference in Washington, which brought together many Trump supporters.

Iran’s official leadership, which has sparred with Trump over his reinstating of sanctions aimed at Tehran’s nuclear program, did not immediately comment on the shooting.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said, “We condemn this terrorist act” and affirmed the Palestinian state’s position, “which always rejects violence, terrorism and extremism, whatever its source.”