Two months after an assassination attempt left Presidential candidate Donald Trump wounded and the US stunned by increased violence, the former President faced yet another attack on Sunday, September 15, within weeks of the election.
Second assassination attempt on Donald Trump
On a hot Sunday afternoon, September 15, the Presidential candidate Donald Trump arrived at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach with his long-time friend Steve Witkoff. The former President was on the fifth fairway at 13:31 EDT (17:31 GMT) when a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle peeking through the sixth hole.
Immediately evacuated, Trump left the scene unharmed, recalling that he heard “probably four or five” shots in the near distance. The suspect, hiding approximately 274-457 metres away from the former President didn´t have a clear line of sight of Trump, as reported by federal investigators.
A Secret Service agent had opened fire in the direction of the perpetrator, who was equipped with two digital cameras and an SKS-style semi-automatic rifle; a weapon with a range of almost 403 metres. Trump had chanted “fight, fight, fight,” the last time his life was threatened on July 13; this time, he released a fundraising email, reading; “I am safe and well. Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”
The gunman behind Trump´s second assassination attempt
A former construction worker from Greensboro, 58-year-old Ryan Routh was reported to stay “relatively calm” when taken by the authorities for attempting to assassinate Donald Trump. “The suspect´s demeanor I would describe as relatively calm, flat; in fact, he was not displaying a lot of emotion, never asked ´what is this about?´” reported Martin County Sheriff, William Snyder to the Press.
The incident was not the first time Routh had been convicted, as he was charged with possessing a fully automatic machine gun in a three-hour standoff with police in Greensboro in 2022. The attacker was also reported to be in favour of the former Republican US presidential candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley.
Yet, like the attacker on July 13, Matthew Crooks, Routh was found to have mixed views on American politics, making bold, left-wing statements on social media; “Keep America democratic and free. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose.” Routh had gone as far as Kyiv, Ukraine, posing as a Democratic hero, saying “I am flying to Ukraine to fight for the kids and families of Ukrainians. I am willing to go and die for democracy.”
In his self-published book Ukraine´s Unwinnable War, Routh debated on the subject whether it is “acceptable to kill another human being,” for the sake of a nation, which is evidently a question that has continued to captivate him.
Routh now faces charges with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and one count of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, potentially met with 20 years of prison time.
Trump´s assassination attempt; “American democracy is broken”
Despite his passionate claims, Routh chose not to die for democracy but to kill. Being the second assassination attempt, the incident received a concerningly small amount of attention; mirroring, perhaps, the normalisation of violence for “high” ambitions in the US. “I´ve talked to a number of people in the aftermath, and it´s almost like people expected this. And that´s horrifying,” said James Davis, a Republican strategist to the Press.
Political strategist Rina Shah agreed; “The people paying attention are absolutely numb to what´s going on…There´s a lot of apathy out there, because American representative democracy is broken.”
Since the presidential debate, Harris has been leading the elections, chosen by Americans by 58 to 36 per cent in response to the speeches. General vote preferences also see Harris leading with 51 per cent above Trump´s 47 amongst registered voters.
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