As presidential candidate Donald Trump was in full campaign oratory, he suddenly flinched, grabbed his bloodied right ear, and ducked to the stage floor. Within two seconds, Trump’s Secret Service detail was on him, shielding the former commander-in-chief from further danger. That’s what attendees saw and heard at the Trump campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show Grounds in Butler, Pennsylvania. But what did America’s international friends and foes think?
Mark Angelides, Liberty Nation News editor-in-chief, provided a review of reactions from world leaders, mostly friends of the US. Typical of the sentiments was that of “Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli PM, [who] posted: ‘Sara and I were shocked by the apparent attack on President Trump. We pray for his safety and speedy recovery,’” Angelides reported. Somewhat more reserved was the reaction by China. The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) President Xi Jinping commented on the attempted assassination of former President Trump. “China’s President Xi Jinping expressed his ‘compassion and sympathy’ to Trump, a spokesman said, following the assassination attempt. ‘China is closely following the situation surrounding the shooting of former President Donald Trump,’ a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement,” according to an Al Jazeera report.
The PRC foreign minister’s response reflects the caution the Chinese leadership is taking regarding what may be the future leader of the US with whom they will have to deal. Russia’s reaction was less oblique and cut to the chase. In an unabashed expression of what the Kremlin was thinking, the German Press Agency (DPA) reported:
“Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the attempted assassination was a consequence of Washington’s ‘policy of fomenting hatred.’ The US should take stock of its policies on political opponents, countries and nations [she said]. She added that the US should focus on its internal problems instead of supplying weapons to Ukraine.”
As one would expect, the Moscow propaganda machine will take any and every opportunity to justify Russia’s unprovoked and brutal invasion of Ukraine. Much of the cynicism reflected in the Russian foreign ministry’s words no doubt stems from the recent 2024 NATO Summit Washington Declaration representing a unified condemnation of Russian aggression in Ukraine and a commitment to counter Moscow’s vicious war on the Ukrainian people with increased military support to Kyiv.
A separate statement by the spokesman for the Russian government provided a subtle spin on the events and projection of what the Kremlin’s behavior would be in similar circumstances. “The Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that while Russia did not believe the current US administration was responsible for the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, it had created an atmosphere that provoked the attack,” a Reuters dispatch said. It’s an odd take on the events surrounding the attempted assassination of the leading presidential candidate. No media outlet in the immediate aftermath of the events surrounding the Trump rally even hinted at the Biden administration being behind the shooting. But that’s what would happen in Russia, so why shouldn’t it happen in other countries?
The Kremlin spokesman’s comment reveals a more subtle intention. With the US political discourse bathed in vitriolic rhetoric and invective, Peskov’s inference is red meat for conspiracy theorists. Russia has demonstrated a mastery of weaponizing information, and no one should think this is not Moscow seizing the events in Butler, Pennsylvania, to further divide America and sow doubt in its government.
What the Americans saw and what the world watching the Trump rally should have seen was a horrific episode in US political history where a deranged twenty-year-old attempted to kill another human with whom he disagreed. But he failed. Instead, he took the life of a 50-year-old fireman, Corey Comperatore, who died shielding his family from harm. Corey’s only crime was attending a speech by a presidential candidate he admired. However, what the world also should have seen was, in the midst of what could have been uncontrolled chaos created by the assassin, the image of Trump, the indomitable candidate, as he emerged courageous and defiant with the American flag-waving in the background, holding his fist high and vowing to fight on.
Additionally, the crowd did not stampede for the exits. They stood fast shouting “USA,” inspired by the warrior countenance of Donald Trump. When asked to, they moved toward the parking lots in an orderly and disciplined manner. Furthermore, among those attendees who remained to give first-hand accounts to the press about what they had seen, there was nearly unanimous gratitude to God that Trump was safe and shared grief for the Trump supporter slain and those injured. Hopefully, those images will be what America’s foes remember.
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.