As a staunch opponent of political violence, I greatly prefer when national leaders respond to it by condemning violence and expressing concern for victims (image 1) rather than encouraging violence and laughing at victims (image 2).
If it was Hitler, there'd be nothing to condemn. Since it's a serial rapist, racist, violence creating fascist seeking to destroy America and in turn, Europe, the reaction should be the same as if it were Hitler. "Better luck next time" is appropriate.
Hey, a reminder I give people every now and then: a friend of mine got blackout drunk and emailed Bush on the night of the 2000 election and said “I’m going to kill you and you’ll never find me.” Six hours later he was in cuffs and it cost him thousands in legal fees and he’s still on a list.
On the one hand, I get the instinct for responsible leaders to attempt to break cycles of violence, because doing the opposite tends to end in disaster.
On the other hand, being the bigger man isn't that effective of a re-election strategy.
