The Second Assassination Attempt on Former President Trump

A man was arrested after authorities spotted his rifle poking through a fence at former President Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, FL, on Sunday. The incident, the second attempt on Trump’s life within nine weeks, resulted in no casualties or injuries, according to a spokesperson for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. The former president is safe, and authorities apprehended the would-be assassin after a brief chase.

Shortly before 2 p.m., Secret Service members noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking out of a bush about 400 yards away from Trump. The gunman was reportedly at or near the golf course for nearly 12 hours before a Secret Service agent spotted him. The suspect fled, but was eventually caught in a neighboring county and identified as Ryan Wesley Routh. Routh, 58, faces federal firearms charges and made his initial appearance in federal court in West Palm Beach on Monday morning.

Routh had previously been arrested for weapons violations, including possessing weapons of mass destruction, drug possession, and engaging in a three-hour standoff with police following a traffic stop. Routh was known for his staunch support of Ukraine, and it appears that he supported Trump in 2016 before throwing his support to Democrat Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard in 2020.

Outlets on the left and center focused mainly on the investigation and circumstances surrounding the incident, and how the Trump campaign has had to adapt to their tumultuous environment. Outlets on the right called the competency of the U.S. Secret Service into question, referencing the recent frequency of attempts on Trump’s life, an unprecedented amount for a presidential candidate. 

A Fox News (Right bias) writer was quick to point out the lack of resources the Secret Service had, claiming that, “as of February, there were 7,879 people employed by the Secret Service, according to government records viewed by Reuters, which falls short of the around 8,300 staffers that the agency’s annual budget calls for,” quoting from a former Secret Service agent who said “the Secret Service has had to expand its protective coverage to a wider group of officials since President Biden dropped his re-election bid in July, placing further strain on its staff.”

For USA Today (Left Lean bias), a writer painted a different story, claiming that the Secret Service “appeared to have handled the situation properly” after creating an “elevated presence around former President Donald Trump.” The writer argued that “the Secret Service was following protocol, especially for someone like Trump who is a presidential candidate not entitled to the full complement of protection he was given when he was president.” The writer also highlighted “the challenges in protecting a presidential candidate who likes to keep a high public profile.”

A Daily Signal (Right bias) writer accused the media of “victim blaming” Trump, saying, “The media is treating the story of the second assassination attempt—already fading from the back pages of national newspapers days after it happened Sunday—as if it’s no big deal.” The writer argued that Trump “was the direct, twice-over victim. That makes no difference to a hostile media. The language of victimhood is all about power, not about actual victims.” 

A writer for the Washington Post Opinion (Lean Left bias) wrote of the challenges the Trump campaigning team has faced, explaining that “almost every aspect of his campaign has faced new restrictions — and drastically more security.” The writer noted the outside effects of such high security and restrictions on those around Trump, adding that the restrictions caused “concern among local officials about gridlock, emergency response times and potentially restricted the ability of members to make use of his club.”