Duterte on Trump shooting: 'A chilling indictment of our times'

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Duterte on Trump shooting: 'A chilling indictment of our times'

Hernel Tocmo,

ABS-CBN News

 | 

Updated Jul 14, 2024 11:30 PM PHT

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In this file photo, US President Donald Trump greets  President Rodrigo Duterte upon his arrival during the official opening of the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Summit at the cultural center of the Philippines on November 13, 2017.  Ali Vicoy,  Pool/FileIn this file photo, US President Donald Trump greets  President Rodrigo Duterte upon his arrival during the official opening of the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Summit at the cultural center of the Philippines on November 13, 2017.  Ali Vicoy,  Pool/File

MANILA -- Former president Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday condemned the assassination attempt against former US president Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Duterte said that the shooting of the US Republican candidate is a "chilling indictment of our times".

Trump was hit in the ear in an assassination attempt, with the Secret Service rushing him off the stage with blood streaked across his face. The shooter and a bystander were killed and two spectators critically injured in the incident.

In 2017, Duterte met Trump during the latter's visit to the Philippines for the ASEAN Summit.

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"It is a wake-up call that no one, not even a former president and leading presidential candidate, is safe even in the most powerful nation on earth," Duterte said in a statement.

Duterte said the failed assassination "comes at a crucial time when the election for the next President of the United States is barely four months away."

"Speculation that this violent incident has something to do with the upcoming elections is too difficult to resist,"  he said. 

"It is significant that former President Trump opened a sizable lead in the presidential race, a cause for concern to those opposed to his announced priorities," he added.

Duterte noted that the outcome of the US elections has repercussions for other countries, including the Philippines, while criticizing the policies of the current administration under Democrat Joe Biden.

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"American policies under the Biden administration towards the Philippines, particularly the installation of a missile system in Ilocos Norte, have placed the Philippines in considerable danger. It has generated no small amount of fear among Filipinos wary that the country has now become a target if war breaks out anytime," he said. 

Duterte expressed his hope that the results in the US presidential elections will indicate well for the Philippines and Filipinos.

He also wished Trump a speedy recovery from his wounds and trauma caused by the assassination attempt.

Earlier on Sunday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. joined other world leaders in condemning the shooting of Trump.

"Together with all democracy loving peoples around the world, we condemn all forms of political violence. The voice of the people must always remain supreme," Marcos said on social media.

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"It is with great relief that we receive the news that former President Donald Trump is fine and well after the attempt to assassinate him. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family," he also said.

Trump's campaign said he would still attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, after he was reported to have had a precautionary hospital checkup.

US political figures including former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton lined up to condemn the attack and say there was no place for violence in politics.

The United States has a history of political violence, and presidents, former presidents and candidates have tight security.

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 while riding in his motorcade, and his brother Bobby Kennedy was shot dead in 1968. President Ronald Reagan survived an assassination attempt in 1981. -- with Agence France-Presse

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