President-elect Donald Trump reacted to the news that Andrei Karlov, a Russian ambassador to Turkey, was assassinated on Monday.
“Today we offer our condolences to the family and loved ones of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov, who was assassinated by a radical Islamic terrorist,” Trump said in a statement. “The murder of an ambassador is a violation of all rules of civilized order and must be universally condemned.”
Trump also released a statement condemning an attack in Berlin, after a tractor trailer drove into a Christmas market killing nine and injuring at least 50.
“Innocent civilians were murdered in the streets as they prepared to celebrate the Christmas holiday,” he said. “ISIS and other Islamist terrorists continually slaughter Christians in their communities and places of worship as part of their global jihad.”
As Democrats have spent weeks alarming American citizens about Russia, Trump’s statements refocus on radical Islamic terror as the bigger threat facing the world.
“These terrorists and their regional and worldwide networks must be eradicated from the face of the earth, a mission we will carry out with all freedom-loving partners,” he said.
Trump also reacted to the news on Twitter, recognizing a shooting at a mosque in Switzerland as well.
“Today there were terror attacks in Turkey, Switzerland and Germany – and it is only getting worse,” he wrote. “The civilized world must change thinking!”