Assassination attempts on presidents and presidential candidates have become a "tradition" in U.S. political life, Russia said on Sunday, referring to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that U.S. President Joe Biden has acknowledged in a statement that assassination attempts on presidents, candidates, prominent figures, and political personalities are a painful manifestation of U.S. domestic political life, but she added, "Biden should have said that this is not only a painful manifestation of U.S. domestic political life but also a 'tradition.'"
Trump was shot in the right ear but is fine after a fatal shooting, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) later issuing a statement identifying Thomas Matthew Crooks as the suspected shooter.
The Secret Service in a separate statement said the shooter fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position from outside the venue. In addition to the shooter, one spectator is dead and two others were critically injured.
The incident occurred just days before Trump was to be nominated as the Republican presidential candidate for the 2024 election.
"Two months ago, I paid attention to the fact that the U.S. was literally fostering hatred toward political opponents, as well as provided examples of the American tradition of attempts and assassinations of presidents and presidential candidates," Zakharova said in a separate statement on her Telegram channel.
