WASHINGTON – Republican and Democratic leaders, as well as some international friends and foes, expressed shock Saturday night following the news that gunfire broke out during a Donald Trump campaign rally in Pennsylvania – and relief that the former president survived the attack.
Notable officials, including former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, praised the Secret Service’s quick action and expressed gratitude that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee appeared to be doing well.
“As someone whose family has been victims of political violence, I know firsthand that political violence of any kind has no place in our society. I thank God that former President Trump is safe,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. “As we learn more details about this horrific incident, let us pray that everyone present at the former president’s rally today emerges unharmed.”
Pelosi’s husband was beaten with a hammer in 2022 by a man who broke into his home.
Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., said he spoke to his father on the phone and “he’s in great spirits.” “He will never stop fighting to save America, no matter what the radical left throws at him,” Trump Jr. said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X: “Sara and I were shocked by the apparent attack on President Trump. We pray for his safety and speedy recovery.”
“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 on his official X account.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has an adversarial relationship with Trump, said during a campaign event broadcast on state television that he wished Trump a speedy recovery: “May God bless the people of the United States and give them peace and tranquility. We have opposing states, but I wish President Trump health and long life, and I repudiate this attack.”
Obama, Trump’s immediate predecessor in the White House, shared the views of others who have held the presidency, writing on social media: “There is absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy. While we still don’t know exactly what happened, we should all be relieved that former President Trump was not seriously injured and take this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics. Michelle and I wish him a speedy recovery.”
President Joe Biden said: “There is no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick.”
Bush praised the Secret Service for its “quick response” to the violence. “Laura and I are grateful that President Trump is safe after the cowardly attack on his life,” Bush wrote on X.
Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, criticized the violence in his home state.
“I am shocked and condemn in the strongest terms this violence in Butler,” he wrote in the X. “I offer my condolences to those injured and wish a speedy and full recovery to Mr.
At least one Republican member of the House, Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia, pinned the blame on Biden, saying, “The Republican district attorney in Butler County, PA, should immediately bring charges against Joseph R. Biden for inciting murder.”
Ohio Senator JD Vance, who has been identified as a potential Trump vice presidential running mate, said on X that the violence “was not just an isolated incident. The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. This rhetoric led directly to the attempted assassination of President Trump.”
John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said violence of any kind has “no place in our political process.” He added that “this horrific act is another reminder that no one is immune from experiencing gun violence. When guns are everywhere, for anyone, no questions asked – no one is safe.”
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Associated Press writers Hannah Schoenbaum, Stefanie Dazio, Jill Colvin, Yuri Kateyama and Jorge Rueda contributed to this report.
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