" As your northerly boundary line country whose political scene is a peck , this is my takeaway : I was truly dismayed and saddened by the amount of celebration . "
Last weekend, there was anattempted assassinationof former president and current Republican candidate Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally.
I was curious to hear non-Americans' thoughts about the situation and its impact on the US election, so Iaskedmembers of theBuzzFeed Communitywho live in other countries to share their honest reactions.
Whether you agree or not, here’s what they had to say:
1.“I think there is a sense of inevitability about it. In an increasingly polarized world where there is so much hate from both sides, it was only a matter of time. I’m in the UK, and our policy for most things seems to be, ‘Look what America does and do it a bit less.'”
" mirthfully , we throw eggs and shake at our dislike politicians , and long may it stay that way . Both sides are blame each other , and it has accomplished nothing except to divide even further . Yes , I do reckon it will help best , but I assume it was headlining that way no matter . "
— RockingRuby
2.“This chaos is bleeding into our lives unbidden and unwanted. The political state in Canada is absolutely fucked because of the bullshit the US has allowed to take over the country. Our conservatives were a fiscal nightmare, but not the racist, anti-government, anti-science, anti-social, self-centered white supremacists that are now somehow on open display. It’s BONKERS to any reasonable human.”
3.“As a Canadian who follows US politics fairly closely, I fear this may have won him the election. The religion and miracle talk are crucial to a base that already views him as a messiah, and it gives him a spotlight as a fighter, whereas Biden is seen right now as an old man.”
" It ’s probably the most influential curveball we ’ve seen in this airstream . Hopefully , it ’ll be the last dangerous curveball ( because assassination , regardless of your political vista , will just cause more chaos and violence on all side ) . Good fortune , America , you ’ll need it . "
— Anonymous
4.“I hope with all my heart that the people of the United States will see this as a wake-up call to share their different opinions peacefully and respectfully.”
— coolgirl32
5.“All that I can think of is 2016’s word of the year being ‘truthy’ and that being partly influenced by Trump’s politics. The same sentiment still stands today. It seemingly doesn’t matter what the truth is about the shooting in America.”
" It does n’t matter if gas control could ’ve prevented it ; it does n’t weigh who the guy was registered to vote for or how many other people ’s lives are ruin because of this . In the optic of a non - American , what does seem to matter is how well it fits each political party ’s ' trueness . ' This is why the right is already spinning stories , and the left has mass saying that they wish it was successful even though they take to be anti - violence and pro - democracy . "
— indieseed
6.“As your northern border country whose political scene is a mess, this is my takeaway: I was truly shocked and saddened by the amount of celebration. No matter who you support or believe in, celebrating a murder or assassination of an individual is disturbing, and to do it on TikTok just shows how messed up US society has become.”
7.“Attempts on the lives of people in power worldwide are as old as time. As a non-American, what really confused me is why there are rifle clubs in schools. Is this common? Maybe they should be directing more anger and concern toward stopping school shootings.”
— AnonymousThe shooterreportedlytried out for his high schooltime rifle night club .
8.“I am from Germany. We are already pretty nervous about another round with President Trump in 2025. So, the assassination attempt was a shock! I’m happy he survived. But with the photo of him raising his fist, I don’t believe Biden is going to win in November.”
9.“Violence is never the answer. No matter your opinion on Trump or Biden, never should you point a gun at someone. Innocents were injured. The shooter’s intended target was Trump, but someone else got caught in the crossfire and paid the price for violence.”
10.“Hi, I’m from Germany. I think that Trump will use this incident to finally present himself to his supporters as a hero and martyr ordained by God. (It feels like in America, people often argue with God or God’s providence, much more than here in Germany.) He will exploit it and put himself on the same level as Kennedy or Reagan.”
11.“As a queer woman, this is scary. The US right now seems to have a want for violence. The right-wing in Canada has started mimicking the right in the US, and while I’m relatively sheltered from a lot of it in Vancouver, I do fear for my BIPOC, non-cis, and queer neighbors in the States even more than I did prior.”
12.“The USA loves their guns so much that one attempt on Trump’s life is somehow more important than the hundreds killed every year in shootings, so he’ll likely be voted in because he’s a ‘survivor’ and ‘God saved him.’ Democracy is about to come to a swift end for you all, and what a devastating consequence it will have for the rest of us.”
13.“The rest of the world looks on with a total lack of surprise that Trump was shot. Given the number of guns in circulation in the US and the number of madmen toting them, the only surprise was that it hadn’t been attempted before.”
14.“Who lives like this? Really, how are you all coping? The past decade has just been one thing after another that makes me glad my ancestors immigrated to Canada, not the States.”
And finally…
15.“Living in Central Canada, right above North Dakota, makes it awful to watch. Truthfully, the Democrats and the Republicans are so far apart that I don’t think a Democrat supporter is going to switch to Trump because of this situation. What I’m actually worried about is right-wingers blaming the left and thinking more violence is somehow a defensive move.”
— staceyl4c2be94ab
Responses have been edited for length / clearness .
