‘The election is over’: Celebrities react to Donald Trump assassination attempt

Following the attempt on Donald Trump’s life this weekend at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, celebrities have been reacting to the shooting on social media.

The former president and presumptive GOP presidential nominee said he was hit in the ear by a bullet, in what the FBI have confirmed they are treating as an “assassination attempt.” One rally attendee was killed, as was the suspected shooter, whom the FBI identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.

The following day (Sunday 14 July), Trump thanked the nation for its concern and called on Americans to unite. Later the same day, he said he would travel to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention.6.2M

Elon Musk shared a video of the shooting and wrote: "I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery."

Several high profile figures in the entertainment world also shared their reactions to the news, with rapper 50 Cent posting a clip of his song ‘Many Men (Wish Death)’ along with a photograph of Trump standing with his fist in the air and blood splattered across his face. “I know the vibes,” the rapper wrote. “We are all in trouble now!”

The lyrics of the song include: “Many men wish death upon me. Blood in my eye.” The post has since been deleted - it was not immediately clear why.

A subsequent post on X saw him post a retooled version of the cover of his 2003 debut album ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, with Trump’s face superimposed on his.

“Trump gets shot and now I’m trending,” he wrote.

Kid Rock, a known Trump supporter who has become a vocal figure for the far-right movement, posted a video to Instagram, yelling: “You fuck with Trump, you fuck with me.”

Here are some other reactions to the event:

Rapper Soulja Boy reposted the video of the shooting, writing: “Ain’t no way they just shot at trump [mind-blown emoji].”

“How do you miss all those shots fired?” asked rapper M.I.A.

“Would be funny if this was one of those transformative near death experiences and he became super woke.”

“Strong hunch the Trump shooter will turn out to be a time traveller,” posted comedian Frankie Boyle.

“The election is over,” posted rapper JPEGMAFIA – sentiments echoed by political commentator and TV presenter Candace Owens: “No words. Donald J Trump for President of the United States. This election is now over.”

While these celebrity reactions are to be expected, these last two have a more troubling significance, especially since the assassination attempt on Trump could change the minds of those "in the middle of the two armies", one analyst has warned.

Adding to this is that many of Trump's supporters have laid the blame for his assassination attempt firmly on the Democratic party. They claim that Joe Biden portrayed Trump as an autocrat who poses a threat to democracy.

Following the shooting, many right-wing websites were brimming with assertions that left-wing rhetoric motivated Trump’s assailant. Some commentators even pushed unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, including a claim that a shadowy “deep state” cabal within the government orchestrated the assassination attempt.

“Do not think this is going to be the last attempt to kill Trump. The Deep State really has no other choice now,” said a user on the pro-Trump website Patriots.Win. “It's going to take borderline martial law to set the country right,” wrote another.

One user called for a federal government purge. “It's us or them.”

President Joe Biden on Sunday urged Americans to reject political violence and recommit themselves to resolving their differences peacefully, saying the upcoming presidential election will be a “time of testing” in the aftermath of the attempted assassination.

Biden said political passions can run high but “we must never descend into violence.”

“There is no place in America for this kind of violence — for any violence. Ever. Period. No exception. We can’t allow this violence to be normalized.”

Biden promised a “thorough and swift” review and asked the public not to “make assumptions” about the shooter’s motives or affiliations.