WEST PALM BEACH: Following his apparent second assassination attempt, Donald Trump on Monday accused US President Joe Biden and his opponent in the race, Kamala Harris, claiming that their “rhetoric” about him threatening democracy was to blame.
Trump’s quick appropriation of the event on Sunday, in which a man reportedly intended to shoot the Republican as he was playing golf in Florida, ensured that emotions would remain high in the lead-up to the seven-week presidential election.
Harris and Biden have both condemned the purported attempt at assassination.
The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was apprehended shortly after being discovered by police lurking on the edge of Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course with an assault-style rifle. After being shot at by US Secret Service personnel, he ran away and gave himself up without resistance.
When Routh showed up in court on Monday, the judge notified him that he was going to face charges related to unlawful weapon possession. He seemed composed and spoke just “yes” in response to the judge’s inquiries.
The FBI is looking into what it described as what “appears to be an attempted assassination,” thus further charges are anticipated later.
Based on cell phone data, Routh seems to have spent about 12 hours on the Trump golf club perimeter, according to an FBI criminal complaint.
The former president was slightly injured by a bullet on July 13 during an assault at a rally in Pennsylvania. Prior to the lone shooter being killed by back fire, a fan in the audience was also slain.
Fox News Digital quoted Trump, who was unharmed in the incident on Sunday, as saying that Biden and Harris’s language “is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country.”
The 78-year-old Trump made reference to repeated remarks calling him a “threat to democracy.”
The previous president’s unwillingness to accept Biden’s victory in 2020 and his attempt to label the group of his followers who stormed Congress in 2021 as political dissidents have led Biden and Harris to characterize the former president as a threat.
Trump said his opponents “use highly inflammatory language.” Trump’s campaign against Harris is centered on dire warnings about the “invasion” of immigrants and his claims that the US is a “failing nation” that only he can rescue.” “I can use it too – far better than they can – but I don’t,” he said.
Trump said, “the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse,” in a subsequent post on his Truth Social network before attacking immigrants in all capitals.
Examining the secret service
Earlier on Monday, Biden said to reporters at the White House, “Thank God the president is OK.” However, he said that the Secret Service “needs more help” and that Congress had to take action to meet those demands.
After the incident in Butler, Pennsylvania, when the gunman was able to go onto an adjacent roof and oversee the protest, the protection agency faced harsh criticism.
Trump has a sizable security detail, however it is lower than that of an incumbent president since he is a former president and major party contender. According to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, this meant the bodyguards could not surround the whole golf course, which explains how the suspect managed to approach Trump within a few hundred yards before being apprehended.
The US media reports that the potential assailant was deeply committed to the Ukrainian cause and had a long criminal history. Claiming to desire to volunteer and be gathering international warriors to assist stop Russia’s invasion, he came to Ukraine.
But there’s no proof he ever fought there or could have joined the Ukrainian army. His social media profile reveals a diverse range of domestic political connections.
Underlining his condemnation of “any form of political violence,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Monday that he was relieved “that the former president is safe and that law enforcement acted quickly.”
