ROME -- Italian politicians, notably President Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, have condemned the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. 

  Former US president Trump was delivering a speech at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday evening when shots were fired at the stage. Secret Service agents rushed Trump off stage; he could be seen with his ear covered in blood. In a statement later released by Trump, he explained that the bullet “pierced the upper part of my right ear.”  

  Italian politicians have expressed their support for Trump, as well as their concerns about the rise in political violence. “The assassination attempt against Donald Trump is cause for grave alarm and strong indignation. The violence that has started to reappear for some time in the political sphere is a disturbing symptom of the deterioration of the civil fabric and the dangerous rejection of confrontation, dialogue, and respect for democratic life,” President Sergio Mattarella said in a statement released by the Quirinal Palace. 

  “I wish Donald Trump and the others injured a quick recovery and I express my condolences to the citizen who fell victim to this intolerable act of hatred and attack on freedom. The United States, a great democracy, will certainly respond effectively and vigorously to any notion of violence,” Mattarella concluded. 

  Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took to X to send her best wishes to Trump. “My solidarity to him and wishes for a fast recovery with the hope that the coming months of electoral campaigning can see dialogue and responsibility prevail over hatred and violence.” 

  “In political debates, all over the world, there are limits that should never be crossed. It’s a warning to all, regardless of political affiliation, to restore dignity and honour to politics, against every form of hatred and violence, and for the sake of our democracies. Solidarity with Donald Trump, to his supporters and the wounded, and my heartfelt condolences to the victim and their family,” Meloni wrote in a later post. 

  Matteo Salvini, leader of the League party and Deputy Prime Minister of Italy, strongly supported the former US president on X. “ ‘I will NEVER surrender!’ Neither will we. Violence, extremists, and leftists will NEVER stop us or our fight for freedom. @realDonaldTrump is the president America needs. Go Donald Go! #Trump2024.” 

  The FBI has since identified the suspect as Thomas Matthew Crooks, from Pennsylvania, who Secret Service agents shot at the scene. One spectator was killed, and two others injured during what the FBI is calling an assassination attempt.  

lw