King Charles III has written privately to Donald Trump wishing him well after the shooting attempt on his life, Buckingham Palace said Monday.
The content of the message, which was delivered via the U.K. embassy in Washington, D.C., has not been divulged as it is regarded as “private correspondence,” but official sources told The Daily Beast that it was “in keeping” with the sentiments expressed by new British prime minister, Keir Starmer, who said in a message Sunday, “I am appalled by the shocking scenes at president Trump’s rally and we send him and his family our best wishes. Political violence in any form has no place in our societies and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack.”
The former president was the target of an assassination attempt Saturday during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump was grazed by a bullet but otherwise was unharmed. The shooter, who fired from a rooftop approximately 150 feet away from the podium, has since been identified as 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, who was killed by Secret Service snipers within seconds of firing. A 50-year-old attendee named Corey Comperatore was killed while attempting to protect his family, and two other people were injured.
The king has to be scrupulously careful to remain non-political. The fact of the shooting happening in the context of the American election, and at a campaign rally, goes some way to explaining the king’s decision to write to Trump in a private rather than an official capacity.
