New Zealand’s political leaders are condemning political violence as they convey the country’s message to former United States president Donald Trump and the American people following today’s fatal shooting.
Trump, the Republican candidate for the upcoming election, was speaking at a rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when several shots were fired, grazing Trump’s right ear.
The local District Attorney said two people at the rally were dead, including the shooter.
Secret service agents rushed onto the stage to protect Trump, who had blood around his right ear and across his face. He was whisked off stage but not before he raised his fist to the crowd who roared in support.
Luxon, who would be in the US on holiday for much of this week, had only just concluded his visit to the US where he had attended the Nato summit in Washington DC. He held several meetings with world leaders as well as members of the US Senate and Congress.
President Joe Biden (left) met with NZ Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (right) at the Nato summit last week in Washington DC.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, who is currently travelling to Korea, said he was shocked by today’s violence.
”New Zealand and the United States are two of the longest-running democracies in the world,” he said in a social media post.
”We share a proud tradition of political differences being settled at the ballot box, not by violence. We are shocked by the violence directed at former President Donald Trump’s rally today.
”Our thoughts are with the American people directly affected at this difficult time.”
Given Luxon was overseas on holiday and Peters was travelling to Korea, Act leader David Seymour was the Acting Prime Minister.
In a statement on social media, Seymour said New Zealand’s thoughts were with Trump and “the American people”, as he condemned “political violence in all its forms”.
He said the United States and New Zealand were similar in how they were founded on “free debate, peaceful assembly and non-violence that are essential to democracy.
”New Zealand condemns political violence in all its forms, wherever it occurs,” Seymour said. ”Nobody should ever be intimidated out of participating in any democracy by violence. We will never let such people win.”
Act leader David Seymour, who is Acting Prime Minister, denounced the political violence. Photo / Marty Melville
In a later media stand-up, Seymour said the implications of the shooting would be “complicated”. He hoped Americans would take a “deep breath” and commit themselves to open debate and peaceful assembly.
”Politics is about problem-solving and persuasion, you can’t be very good at problem-solving or persuasion if you have to use bullets.”
Seymour, also the Act leader, said the incident hadn’t changed his position on domestic gun law reform, which his party was driving.
He said the US had a very different set of laws which meant New Zealand was “not even in the same ballpark” with the US in that regard.
Seymour believed “stringent laws” were needed to ensure only the right kind of people accessed firearms. He criticised the former Government’s record, claiming Labour focused too heavily on the firearm instead of who was accessing them, something he alleged led to a “number of firearms” going into the “wrong hands”.
He said he had “great faith” in the US democracy to remain intact and adapt following the incident but acknowledged it would be a “real challenge”.
Asked whether New Zealand was safe, Seymour said he was proud he was able to safely walk in public without security to conduct media interviews like he’d done this afternoon.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he remained “incredibly proud” of his party’s work to implement a firearms register, which was opposed by Act.
“There was widespread support for our reforms at the time and I don’t think that’s changed.
“David Seymour, acting PM or not, is not on the right side of this one.”
In an earlier statement, Hipkins said political views should be put aside to condemn violence directed at politicians “in the strongest possible terms”.
”There is no place for violence in democracy. Regardless of your political views, violent attacks on any political candidate should be condemned in the strongest possible terms,” he said in a statement.
Labour leader and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins also condemned the violence shown at the rally. Photo / Mark Mitchell
”My thoughts are with the American people, former President Trump, and all those at the rally today.”
In a brief press conference, US President Joe Biden said he had tried to contact Donald Trump, who was “with his doctors”.
“There’s no place in American for this kind of violence - it’s sick,” he said of the shooting.
“The bottom line is a Trump rally should have been able to be conducted peacefully without any problems,” Biden told reporters.
“Everybody must condemn it.”
Asked whether he believed the shooting was an assassination attempt, Biden said he didn’t have enough information to comment on that.
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.
