On Sep. 15, an assassination attempt on Former President Donald Trump occurred when the suspect, Ryan Routh, was able to get close to Trump at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Routh has gone through multiple political parties however recently began endorsing Kamala Harris, which is believed to be his motive for the assassination attempt.
58 year old Routh has changed political parties many times over the years. Routh’s main political stance, as he does not completely identify with either main political party, is advocating against the Russian invasion in Ukraine. The article written by Will Weissert from AP News, 5 Things to Know About the Apparent Assassination Attempt on Trump covers Routh’s political stances leading him to the assassination.
Weissert gave examples of many actions performed by Routh showing his advocacy for Ukraine. Routh was extremely active on the internet, posting often on social media advocating for Ukraine, as well as creating a website to gather volunteers to fight against the Russian invasion. Though Routh never fought in the Ukrainian army himself, he did visit areas such as Kyiv’s independence square as well as a makeshift memorial to those dying due to the Russian invasion.
Due to the strong advocacy for Ukraine that Routh possessed, he simply identified with the political party that he believed at the time would help Ukraine and his other strong beliefs the most. In 2020, Routh posted on X that Trump would win his reelection if he were to help prevent police misconduct. However, from 2023 to 2024 Routh has begun showing more support for Biden and Harris. In July of 2024, following the first assassination attempt on trump, Routh posted once again, asking Harris and Biden to visit hospitals of the people who had been harmed in the Trump rally.
Though the former president is stated to be alive and well, this is the second attempt on his life within the span of a few months. Just earlier this year, on July 13, Trump was shot during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. He survived both times, however due to these attempts, Trump, a long-time supporter of firearms, has now seen the effect of the guns he desperately strives to keep and increase in this country.
The article written by TheTrace editorial assistant Alma Beauvais “What Harris and Trump Might Do About Guns If Elected, covers Trump’s pro-firearms stance. According to Beauvais, Trump has linked himself to extremely pro-firearms groups, including the National Rifle Association (NRA), who officially endorsed Trump. Trump also created a group, titled the “Gun Owners for Trump,” showing his dedication to keep his firearms in this country.
Trump’s long time support for the Second Amendment during his presidency led him to be very keen with loosening restrictions on firearms.
According to Democracy Forward, Sidebar: What Has Trump Done on Guns? A Lot, a singular month into Trump’s presidency, he changed the interpretation of the term “fugitives from justice.” People who are flagged as a fugitive from justice are legally restrained from purchasing guns, and changing the meaning of “fugitives from justice” has changed the amount of dangerous people who are allowed possession of firearms.
The phrase has been altered to only include people if they fled a state with the purpose of avoiding prosecution. Previously, the FBI had interpreted “fugitive from justice” as anyone with an outstanding arrest warrant. This would bring the number of people allowed to purchase firearms in the US up significantly.
Not only did he interpret the law differently, Trump went so far as to destroy government data, erasing entries for hundreds of thousands of people who have committed crimes, therefore allowing them to purchase guns.
According to Democracy Forward, Sidebar: What Has Trump Done on Guns? A Lot, Trump has also removed data for nearly 500,000 people who had been marked as “fugitives from justice.” He deleted all of these records, and only 1,000 of them have been restored. The FBI is required to maintain these records, and purging them means they’ve failed to complete one of their duties assigned to them by the federal law.
The people that Trump has so eagerly given access to guns also happen to share much in common with Trump’s shooter, as they have also previously committed crimes. Even after seeing the destructive aspect of guns in July with the assassination attempt, Trump has once again had his life in jeopardy because of his valued firearms.
Written by Will Weissert from AP News, 5 Things to Know About the Apparent Assassination Attempt on Trump covers exactly how the suspect of his second attempt, Ryan Routh, was discovered by the U.S. Secret Service.
Routh was able to get close to Trump, and even though the former president is healthy and well, that does not mean his life was not, and still is not, in danger. Routh, possessing the firearm, was legally unable to purchase a gun. Trump’s wish to spread guns throughout America, to people convicted of crimes or not, led to his life being put in danger.
Weissert later states, “Routh, 58, faces charges of possessing a firearm [with an obliterated serial number despite a prior felony conviction. Additional charges are possible.”
