Trump Survives Second Assassination Attempt During Golf Game at Florida Club
Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Joe Raedle
Former President Donald Trump survived a second assassination attempt while playing golf at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Unlike a previous attempt two months ago, Trump was not giving a campaign speech but enjoying a casual round of golf when the incident occurred.
Trump, the GOP’s 2024 presidential nominee, was playing between the fifth and sixth holes when Secret Service agents heard multiple gunshots nearby. According to an insider source and a CNN report, Trump’s security team was several holes away when an agent noticed the barrel of a rifle sticking out from the golf course’s fence. The agents quickly rushed Trump to safety.
The shooter, identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh from Hawaii, fled the scene but was apprehended by law enforcement shortly after. Routh, armed with an AK-47 rifle, two backpacks, and a GoPro camera, was reportedly hiding in the bushes when spotted.
This attempt on Trump’s life comes just two months after a near-fatal incident in Pennsylvania, where a shooter injured Trump’s ear during a rally. The assailant in that case, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed by the Secret Service.
At the time of Sunday’s attack, Trump was golfing with real estate investor and close ally Steve Witkoff. Fox News host Sean Hannity reported that both Trump and Witkoff heard the gunfire. “The way Steve described this, the way the president described it, they both had exactly the same story, which is that they heard pop pop, pop pop,” Hannity said, adding that Secret Service agents “pounced on the president” and escorted him to safety.
Trump and Witkoff were quickly taken to a secure location in a golf cart and placed under lockdown. The FBI has since launched an investigation, labeling the incident as an attempted assassination of the former president.
State Attorney for Palm Beach County, David Aronberg, said the suspect remained calm and silent after his arrest. “He knew enough to stay silent,” Aronberg told CNN, suggesting that Routh had likely interacted with law enforcement before. The suspect, a critic of Trump and supporter of Ukraine, remains in custody as the investigation continues.
