Donald Trump reveals what he thinks the assassination attempts on his life mean and what Joe Biden said to him in the aftermath
'There's something going on. I mean, perhaps it's God wanting me to be president to save this country,' he said during a conversation on X Monday night.
He also revealed what Joe Biden said to him after the president called him on Monday evening to check on him.
'He called up to make sure I was okay, to make sure that, you know, do I have any suggestions? We do need more people on my detail, because we have 50, 60,000 people showing up to events, and, you know, other people don't have that,' Trump noted.
He repeated his assertion that the 'radical left' was behind the attempts on his life - both Sunday and at the July 13th rally in Butler, Pa.
'Well, there's a lot of rhetoric going right. A lot of people think that the Democrats, when they talk about threat to democracy and all of this, and it seems that both of these people were radical lefts,' he noted of the men who attempted to shoot him.
It was Trump's first public comments on the assassination attempt on Sunday while he was playing golf at his West Palm Beach, Fla., course.
Donald Trump made his first public comments on the second attempt on his life during an interview on X's Spaces at Mar-a-Lago
‘It was quite something. But it worked out well. The Secret Service did an excellent job, and they have the man behind bars and hopefully he's going to be there for a long time. Dangerous person, very, very dangerous person,' the former president said.
He described Sunday on his course as 'very peaceful, very beautiful weather. Everything was beautiful. It was nice place to be.'
He then turned dramatic, recounting what happened when he was on the fifth hole: 'All of a sudden we heard shots being fired in the air. And I guess probably four or five. But what do I know about that? But Secret Service knew immediately it was bullets, and they grabbed me.'
Trump said the only bullets fired came from his protective detail.
'What the gunfire was, actually, interestingly, was a Secret Service agent who had seen the barrel of an AK47, which is a very powerful gun, rifle and he started shooting at the barrel. Started shooting in the bushes,' he said.
'How good is that, right? Could only see the barrel. Based on that, he started shooting and ran toward the target and was shooting a lot of I mean, those were the shots we heard. The other one never got a shot off.'
He noted a Secret Service agent put him in his golf cart and drove off.
'I would have loved to have sank that last putt, but we decided, let's get out of here,' he joked.
Trump praised law enforcement for their work.
'So Secret Service did a great job. And I think I can say, honestly, the sheriff's office, law enforcement, everybody really did a great job.'
Registered Democrat Ryan Routh being apprehended by Palm Beach police on Sunday
But his interview on X on Monday night came after law enforcement released more details about Sunday's incident, including that Trump stalker Ryan Routh may have been lying in wait for the former president for more than 11 hours at the Florida golf course where Trump was playing.
And the high-power rifle Routh had with him may have been purchased overseas.
The new details emerged in the document filed Monday charging Routh, 58, with gun crimes in connection with the incident. Sunday's incident is the second such attempt on Trump's life in the past three months.
Officials found that the loaded SKS-style 7.62x39 caliber rifle had a serial number that 'was obliterated and unreadable to the naked eye.'
The agent who wrote the complaint said that such rifles are not manufactured in Florida, and it's likely the rifle had 'traveled in interstate or foreign commerce.'
Meanwhile, cell phone location data obtained by the FBI indicates that Routh 'was located in the vicinity of the area of the tree line' at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach from just before 2:00 a.m. Sunday until about 1:30 p.m.
That is about when a Secret Service agent, who was checking the course ahead of Trump, spotted a gun muzzle protruding from a nearby fence and fired at Routh. Trump was quickly evacuated.
The details suggest some level of advance planning by Routh. Additionally, the fact he spent about 12 hours around the golf course without discovery has raised questions about the Secret Service's protective procedures.
Officials said Routh was on the public side of the Trump golf course's perimeter fence when the agent spotted the rifle's muzzle.
Law enforcement is still investigating all the details, including where the suspect got the AK-style rifle, his movements ahead of the incident and if anyone else was involved.
It's unclear where Routh may have parked and waited for the former president, who is known to play golf regularly at his West Palm Beach club when at his Mar-a-Lago home nearby.
Local police have increased security around the golf club, including closing down the road that leads to it to all but local traffic.
At the time the agent spotted the gun on Sunday, Trump was on the fifth hole of his Palm Beach golf club. The agent was on the sixth hole, doing a visual sweep ahead of the former president, when he spotted the muzzle of the rifle.
Routh was less than 500 yards from Trump when he was captured.
Secret Service Acting Director Ron Rowe said on Monday that Routh was not able to get off a single shot and never had Trump in his 'line of sight.'
'As former President Trump was moving through the fifth fairway, across the course and out of sight of the sixth green, the agent, who was visually sweeping the area of the sixth green, saw the subject armed with what he perceived to be a rifle and immediately discharged his firearm,' he noted.
The Secret Service came under criticism for not securing a wide enough perimeter around Trump at his July 13th rally in Butler, Pa., where Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate the former president.
But, Rowe noted, the agency had a security plan in place for Trump's golf game, which he said was unscheduled.
'We put together a security plan, and that security plan worked,' he said Monday at a press conference.
Donald Trump on his golf course in West Palm Beach
In the area of the tree line where Routh fled, agents found a digital camera, two bags, a loaded SKS-style 7.62x39 caliber rifle with a scope, and a black plastic bag containing food.
On Sunday, after the Secret Service fired and Routh fled, the Martin County Sheriff's Office began a vehicle stop and Routh was detained at 2:14 p.m. Officers said the license plate of the Nissan he was in was registered to a 2012 white Ford truck that has been reported stolen.
Ryan was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Investigators are trying to restore the serial number so they could trace its origins.
He did not appear to fire the gun, law enforcement noted. Apparently the only shots fired were from Secret Service. Even if Routh did not fire the weapon, he could still face an attempted assassination charge.
'We are investigating this matter as an apparent assassination attempt of Former President Trump,' FBI special agent Jeffrey Veltri of the Miami field office said Monday afternoon at a press conference.
The Secret Service later discovered a rifle, a backpack and a GoPro video camera attached to the fence near where Routh was spotted.
Routh appeared in federal court in West Palm Beach for a brief hearing Monday morning wearing a blue jail jumpsuit.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Ryon McCabe ordered Routh held without bond until a detention hearing scheduled for Sept. 23.
Law enforcement photos show bags hanging from a fence over a rifle propped against it
Ryan Routh in federal court on Monday
Routh has a lengthy criminal record in North Carolina, including a felony conviction for possession of a weapon of mass destruction and multiple felony counts of possession of stolen goods.
In a self-published book, which is available on Amazon, Routh was highly critical of Trump and even encouraged Iran to assassinate him.
'You are free to assassinate Trump,' Routh wrote of Iran.
He also seemed to be no fan of President Joe Biden.
'Sleepy Joe stands for nothing, no plans, no ideas.' he wrote.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13857991/Trump-reveals-assassination-attempts-mean.html
Trump would-be assassin Ryan Wesley Routh was crazy but 'no one cared', says journalist who interviewed him
A journalist who interviewed would-be Trump assassin Ryan Wesley Routh last year has said it was obvious that he was 'crazy'.
Tanya Lukyanova had interviewed the 58-year-old for a Semafor article on American-trained Afghan commandos who wanted to fight for Ukraine.
Speaking with The Free Press, Lukyanova described the registered Democrat who opened fire on the former president on Sunday as being both 'zealous' and 'crazy'.
'You can tell right away that he’s crazy, but I think people thought "Who cares, he’s supporting the right cause".'
Tanya Lukyanova, seen here, had interviewed the 58-year-old for a Semafor article on American-trained Afghan commandos who wanted to fight for Ukraine
Lukyanova described him as being 'a harmless loon.'
Routh is now in custody following the incident, and was described as being 'relatively calm'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13855603/donald-trump-assassin-ryan-wesley-roth-crazy-journalist.html
Son of would-be assassin Ryan Wesley Routh says his dad hates Trump like 'all reasonable people'
Secret Service and Homeland Security agents check a former home of Ryan W. Routh as the FBI investigates the assassination attempt in Florida on Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump
Routh moved to Hawaii a few years back and was living with his longtime girlfriend. His son said he didn't know his father was even in Florida
The house of Ryan Routh is seen in Kaaawa, Hawaii, on Sunday
Law enforcement personnel investigate the area around Trump International Golf Club
Law enforcement personnel are seen on the scene around the perimeter of the area around Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida
Police are seen combing the the bushes around the perimeter of the golf club
The suspect ran from the trees, but was spotted by a witness who snapped a picture of his vehicle – a black Nissan – which included the license plate before he drove away.
The suspect was able to get within 400-500 yards of Trump.
Special Agent Rafael Barros explained at the press conference on Sunday that Secret Service moves along with Trump and is usually surveying one or two holes ahead of him when he goes for a round of golf.
Palm Beach Sheriff's Department vehicles posted up outside Trump International Golf Club on Sunday after gunshots were reported in the vicinity of where the former president was golfing
The armed suspect was outside the club around the 5th and 6th hole, which is confirmed to be a more 'vulnerable' area of the course because it is closest to the road.
Trump's security detail has been ramped up in the two months since the former president was shot in the ear during an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13853755/Son-alleged-assassin-says-dad-hates-Trump-like-reasonable-people-hes-never-owned-gun-wouldnt-bats-crazy.html
The entrance of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach Sunday
Multiple shots were fired near Donald Trump's golf club in West Pam Beach, Florida on Sunday
Routh is seen here in Kyiv, Ukraine, in May 2022
A woman who lived next door to Routh in North Carolina described him as 'a little cuckoo'
Authorities searched Routh's North Carolina home
He donated 19 times to the Democratic political action committee ActBlue
Donald Trump blamed the 'rhetoric' of Biden and Harris for causing him to 'be shot at'
Trump blamed Kamala Harris and Joe Biden's 'rhetoric' for inspiring 'dangerous fools' like Ryan Wesley Routh to try and assassinate him
Trump, 78, said the would-be assassin believed the rhetoric of his political rivals.
'He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,' Trump said of the gunman.
'Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country - both from the inside and out,' Trump continued.
The GOP presidential nominee pointed to Biden and Harris' comments accusing him of being a 'threat to democracy' and claimed they are 'people that want to destroy our country.'
'It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat,' Trump said.
'They do it with a combination of rhetoric and lawsuits they wrap me up in,' the Republican presidential nominee went on.
'These are the things that dangerous fools, like the shooter, listen to - that is the rhetoric they listen to, and the same with the first one,' Trump added noting the attempt on his life in Butler, PA in July.
In a separate Truth Social post, the ex-president blasted Biden, Harris, last week's ABC News presidential debate and the lawsuits against him.
'Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse!' he wrote.
Trump's Truth Social post on Monday afternoon
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13856603/donald-trump-blames-kamala-harris-joe-biden-rhetoric-assassination-attempt.html
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