Former US President and Republican Party nominee Donald Trump has had an eventful election season. He recently survived his second assassination attempt after a man reportedly pointed a rifle at him. The incident took place at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. The first attempt happened just nine weeks ago at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a 20-year-old suspect shot Trump and was, in turn, killed by Secret Service snipers. 

The latest attempt occurred just days after a presidential debate in which Trump, the Republican former US President, faced off against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. The debate in Philadelphia was Trump’s second presidential debate after the unsuccessful June debate he had with US President Joe Biden, who was then the Democrats’ nominee for president.

What happened?

Well, the details aren’t super clear, but here’s what we know so far: Trump was golfing at West Palm Beach when a member of the Secret Service noticed a rifle barrel sticking out of the bushes and responded by shooting at the suspect. The suspect was then seen fleeing in a black car but was arrested shortly after escaping. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  and the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Department revealed that Trump was not hurt. 

The FBI discovered two backpacks, an AK-47-style firearm with a scope and a GoPro camera in the suspect’s hiding place – suggesting a plan to kill Trump on his golf course and film it for all the world to witness.

Who is the suspect?

Several media outlets have named 58-year-old Ryan Routh of Hawaii as the would-be assassin. From his social media posts, Routh is pro-Ukraine and seemingly a Democrat. It is alleged that he is from Greensboro, North Carolina but moved to Hawaii sometime this year. Routh has been described by neighbours as “a little cuckoo”, and a neighbour said that Routh had “a lot of guns” and alleged that people in the neighbourhood were afraid of him.

On his social media, Routh revealed that he had voted for Trump in 2016 but had since withdrawn his support. He also seemed to endorse Biden in April this year by tagging Biden’s X presidential account,  where he wrote that Biden’s campaign should be: “called something like KADAF. Keep America democratic and free. Trumps should be MASA …make Americans slaves again master. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose.”

He spent time in Ukraine and was interviewed by The New York Times last year for an article about foreign fighters and volunteers working in Ukraine. 

The journalist who wrote the article, Thomas Gibson-Neff, said after the assassination attempt that his chat with Routh was brief, but it was clear that the man was “in way over his head.” 

Gibson-Neff says that Routh was determined to help the Ukraine war effort in whatever way he could. “He talked of buying off corrupt officials, forging passports and doing whatever it takes to get his Afghan cadre to Ukraine, but he had no real way to accomplish his goals. At one point he mentioned arranging a U.S. military transport plane from Iraq to Poland with Afghan refugees willing to fight,” said Gibson-Neff. The FBI will officially name the suspect at a press conference on Monday afternoon. 

What have been the reactions? 

  • Harris said that she was “glad” that Trump was safe, saying that “Violence has no place in America.” Her running mate, Tim Walz, echoed her. “It’s not who we are as a nation,” he said.
  • US President Joe Biden said that he is relieved that Trump is safe and condemned the violence. “As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that the Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety,” said Biden.
  • Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, said he had spoken to Trump before the news became public. “He was, amazingly, in good spirits. Still much we don’t know, but I’ll be hugging my kids extra tight tonight and saying a prayer of gratitude.” Florida congressman Mike Waltz condemned the attack and blamed “the left” in an interview on Fox News. “This rhetoric against President Trump, this narrative that he will be the next dictator, that he is the next Hitler coming, it has got to stop. Enough is enough. And when you have this narrative coming from the left, from [the] media, from elected officials, even, that Trump has to be stopped by any means necessary, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that these people are being radicalised and taking action like this,” said Waltz. 

Trump has yet to speak out publicly but has emailed his supporters to let them know that he is safe and that “Nothing will slow me down. He also vowed to “never surrender.”