July 14 (UPI) — Leaders of foreign governments from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey to Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India have responded to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
“Deeply concerned by the attack on my friend, former President Donald Trump. Strongly condemn the incident. Violence has no place in politics and democracies. Wish him speedy recovery,” Modi said on social media.
The Indian leader also offered prayers for the family of a spectator at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump was shot.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry called the attempted assassination “an assault on the will of the people” expressed hope that the upcoming 2024 presidential elections would take place “in a peaceful environment.”
“Interference in democratic politics through violence, coups, and other illegitimate means is unacceptable,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
In additional remarks, Erdoğan expressed hope that justice be brought swiftly and that the shooting would not “cast a shadow” on global stability, noting that Turkey has a friendly allyship with the United States.
Even President Xi Jinping of China, who Trump railed against as president, “expressed sympathies” to the former president in a statement provided by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Some of Trump’s other rivals, like Russia and Iran, have yet to respond.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of Trump, called him “the greatest world leader of the time” as he promised to see the presidential candidate at his inauguration in January, if he were to win the election.
Current Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, the political rival of Bolsonaro, also spoke out and said the attack on Trump should be “vehemently repudiated by all defenders of democracy and dialogue in politics.”
And in the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates was among nations that likewise condemned “such criminal and extremist acts” as well as rejecting all forms of violence.