A wave of business leaders offered words of support and condemnation of political violence Saturday night and Sunday morning after Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt when a gunman opened fire during a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania.
One audience member was killed and Trump was injured when his ear was pierced before he was taken away by the Secret Service.
“I pray for President Trump’s speedy recovery,” Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook wrote, adding, “I strongly condemn this violence.”
It’s a sentiment shared by many.
“It’s absolutely terrifying,” said Amazon (AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy.
Jassy’s predecessor, Jeff Bezos, added that “our former President showed incredible grace and courage amid real pressure tonight.”
The sentiment of support was seen across the political and business worlds and was echoed by many top C-suite leaders, including some who have clashed with Trump over the years.
“Praying for President Trump’s speedy recovery,” Meta (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote. “Political violence undermines democracy and must always be condemned.”
Other similar statements were seen from figures such as the CEO of Microsoft (MSFT), Airbnb (ABNB), to Alphabet (GOOG) and others.
“This is a very difficult night for our nation,” added Intel (INTC) CEO Pat Gelsinger.
Trump was taken to a hospital after the attack and was checked out before being released. He posted a thank you note to first responders online and a campaign spokesman said in a statement that he was “doing great.”
The former president later returned to New Jersey and posted on Sunday morning that he hoped to speak later this week at the Republican National Convention.
The Secret Service said the suspected shooter was killed after attacking “from an elevated position outside the demonstration site.” Two other demonstrators were critically injured.
President Joe Biden and other political leaders from both parties offered their support, as did world leaders. The president said in a televised address that “there is no place in America for this kind of violence. It is abhorrent. It is disgusting.”
He then spoke to Trump by phone that evening.
so glad President Trump is safe!
— Sam Altman (@sama) July 14, 2024
Some new political support for Trump
The impact also comes in the form of new political support for the former President in his campaign against President Biden.
Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk said, “I fully support President Trump and wish him a speedy recovery” just 30 minutes after the shooting.
He also appeared to endorse JD Vance later in the day as Trump’s vice presidential pick and made a series of comments, including criticism of the Secret Service.
Musk’s official endorsement isn’t necessarily surprising. He has long praised Trump and criticized Biden. He even speaks with Trump on various issues several times a month, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report.
The support also comes after Bloomberg reported Friday night before the shooting that Musk had made his first donation for 2024 with a contribution to a Trump-aligned super PAC called America PAC.
Trump received another official endorsement from the business world after the violence when Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman posted an official endorsement.
Like Musk, Ackman has long been critical of Biden and supportive of Trump and he noted in his post that “I made this decision some time ago” and that it probably wouldn’t come as a surprise to his followers.
Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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