By Hannah Brockhaus, Walter Sánchez Silva
The Vatican spoke out after the attack against former President Donald Trump along with political leaders from Latin America and the world, condemning political violence and supporting democracy.
According to a statement from the Vatican Press Office released by Vatican News“the Holy See expresses its own concern about yesterday’s episode of violence, which hurts people and democracy, causing suffering and death.”
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The Vatican “joins the prayer of the American bishops for the Americas, for the victims and for peace in the country so that the reasons of the violent never prevail.”
Trump was injured during a shooting during his campaign rally in the western Pennsylvania town of Butler. The events occurred on Saturday, July 13 at around 6:20 pm (local time), shortly after the rally began.
In a declaration published on social network Truth Social, Trump indicated that a bullet pierced the top of his right ear. After being treated at a nearby hospital, the former president flew to New Jersey at night, with the protection of the Secret Service.
World leaders react to attack on Trump
“Be that as it may, we disapprove of what happened to former President Donald Trump. “Violence is irrational and inhuman,” he wrote for his part. Andrés Manuel López Obradorpresident of Mexico, on his account on X (formerly Twitter).
“All my support and solidarity to President and candidate Donald Trump, victim of a COWARD assassination attempt that put his life and that of hundreds of people at risk,” the president of Argentina shared in X, Javier Miley.
“The desperation of the international left is not surprising, as today it sees its harmful ideology expire, and is willing to destabilize democracies and promote violence to screw itself into power. With fear of losing at the polls, they resort to terrorism to impose their retrograde and authoritarian agenda,” said the president.
“I hope for the speedy recovery of President Trump and that the elections in the United States are held in a fair, peaceful and democratic manner,” Milei said.
The presidency of the Republic of El Salvador published a message in President Bukele categorically condemns the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump (…) in Pennsylvania.”
“President Bukele’s prayers are with President Trump and his family during this difficult time. He also wishes him a speedy recovery and hopes that he recovers his health soon,” the text adds.
“El Salvador reaffirms its commitment to democratic principles and joins in solidarity with the United States in the face of this attack,” the message concludes.
On the other hand, the Government of Colombia, through its Foreign Ministry, also condemned the attack against Trump and highlighted in X that “as a country that has suffered violence, we reaffirm that it has no place in the political and electoral debate. This unfortunate event was an attack on democracy. “We stand in solidarity with the United States at this difficult time.”
“The world does not need more wars, it needs peace, understanding, growth and development. We need to reduce the inequality gap so that humanity grows and develops in harmony. “We repudiate violence in every sense and we reject the attack on former President Trump,” he wrote for his part. Nicolás Maduro Guerrason of Nicolás Maduro, president of Venezuela.
The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, considered that the assassination attempt has been a “tragedy for our democracies”; and he wished former President Trump a speedy recovery, adding that “France shares the shock and outrage of the American people.”
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, said he was “disgusted” by the shooting. “It cannot be overstated: political violence is never acceptable. My thoughts are with former President Trump, those who were at the event, and all Americans,” he said.
In a post on XJapanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated: “We must stand firm against any form of violence that challenges democracy,” while Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te stated that “political violence of any form is never acceptable in our democracies.”
Giorgia MeloniPrime Minister of Italy, wished Trump a speedy recovery “with the hope that in the coming months of the campaign, dialogue and responsibility will prevail over hatred and violence.”
A spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the shooting, calling it an “act of political violence.”
For his part, the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmersaid he was “dismayed by the shocking scenes” of the rally and stressed that “political violence in any of its forms has no place in our societies and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack.”
“Together with all the people of the world who love democracy, we condemn all forms of political violence,” said the president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.in his account on X and added: “The voice of the people must always be supreme.”
Anthony AlbanesePrime Minister of Australia highlighted that “the incident at former President Trump’s campaign event in Pennsylvania today is worrying for the democratic process.”
He Prime Minister of HungaryViktor Orbán, who met Trump last week on his visit to the United States for the NATO summit, said his prayers are with the former president “in these dark hours.”
Suspect of attack against Trump identified
The FBI identified the suspect in injuring Trump. This is Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, a young man of 20 years old. Crooks, who did not have an identification document, was identified with a DNA analysis after being killed by a Secret Service sniper, according to authorities.
In a statement, the FBI said the event “remains an active and ongoing investigation” and asked anyone with information to call or submit photos or videos online.
Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in Pittsburgh in charge of the case, said Saturday night that the motive for the shooting, which left one rally participant dead and two others wounded, is still unknown. The police stated that the three victims are men.
House Oversight Chairman James Comer reported that Congress will hold a hearing on the assassination attempt, to which Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will be invited.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA
Hannah Brockhaus
Hannah Brockhaus is Rome correspondent for Catholic News Agency. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a bachelor’s degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.
Walter Sanchez Silva
I have been a husband since 2008. My wife and I have three children here and one who went to heaven in 2023, before he was born. Since I joined ACI Prensa in 2005, I have had the opportunity to cover various events of the Catholic Church. Among them, the World Youth Days in Cologne, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro and the apostolic trips of Pope Benedict XVI to Mexico and of Pope Francis to South Korea. I have been sent to the Vatican to cover the Family synods, in 2015; of the Amazon, in 2019 and that of Synodality, in 2023. I closely follow the situation of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which suffers persecution from the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, as well as current ecclesiastical events in the region.