Marcelo, André Ventura and PCP communists echo Luís Montenegro’s statements
Portugal’s prime minister Luís Montenegro was one of the first political figures in this country to vehemently condemn the assassination attempt on Donald Trump at an election rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday night.
Writing early on Sunday morning over ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), the prime minister said that “political violence is completely intolerable, and democracies have to combat it systematically”.
Portugal’s head of government also wished Mr Trump a “speedy recovery” – which does appear to be the case: Mr Trump is already back on the election trail, and Saturday’s drama is seen as having sealed his path to a crushing victory of President Biden.
Even before Luís Montenegro took to social media, CHEGA leader André Ventura expressed his feelings in the early hours, branding the “attempt to wound or kill Donald Trump” as “ignoble and cowardly.
“There are increasing numbers of people who neither know nor want to live in a democracy. It is sad! I hope and pray that Trump is well and that the authors of this deplorable attack are severely punished”.
Ventura’s statements preceded news that the ‘shooter’ in this incident had been located and killed.
President Marcelo followed with his comments later on Sunday morning, expressing “the most extreme condemnation” for the attack, and calling for the “firm combat” of political violence.
Marcelo also sent his condolences to the family of the man shot dead in the incident, and wished a speedy recovery to those who were injured.
PCP communist leader Paulo Raimundo equally acknowledged what appears certain to go down as “a turning point” in the current ‘race to the White House’ – both condemning the violence, and saying he hopes Mr Trump will not ‘take advantage’ of the situation, for his own political ends.
This possibility is, of course, in everyone’s minds – and there are few seasoned observers who will say the attack has not played well for Mr Trump’s chances of regaining the presidency in November.
On SIC Notícias last night, commentator and state counsellor Luís Marques Mendes stressed that Mr Trump will come out of Saturday’s violence as “the greatest beneficiary”.
In the global outpouring of condemnation, however, there was not one word from Portugal’s main opposition party (only recently removed from eight years in power) PS Socialists. Not on Sunday – and seemingly not even today have the social media pages of either party leader, Pedro Nuno Santos, or parliamentary leader, Alexandra Leitão, made any allusion to the moment when a divided America fractured even further prompting in the long-term what will undoubtedly be much wider political repercussions.
