Donald Trump says gunman at centre of his alleged assassination attempt ‘very dangerous’

Donald Trump has given his first live interview into an alleged second attempt on his life, as the Secret Service revealed the gunman did not shoot.

Speaking in a live interview for the first time since an alleged second attempt on his life, Donald Trump said suspect Ryan Wesley Routh was a “very, very dangerous person”, and that he hoped he would be behind bars for a long time.

“It was quite something but it worked out well and the Secret Service did an excellent job,” he said during the launch of his new crypto business on X.

It comes after Mr Trump slammed US President Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris for increasingly violent rhetoric that he says has inspired two assassination attempts.

Mr Routh, 58, appeared in federal court, where he was expected to be formally charged with attempting to assassinate Mr Trump.

A van carrying Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, is driven from the federal courthouse after he attended an initial appearance. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

“He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,” Mr Trump told Fox News Digital.

“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.” 

The house of Ryan Wesley Routh in Ka’a’awa, a small town located on the windward side of the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Picture: AFP

Ryan Wesley Routh. Picture: AFP

Social media posts attributed to Mr Routh said Democrats “cannot lose” as the 2024 presidential election had “Democracy on the ballot”.

Mr Trump said the president and vice president were claiming they were unifying the American people, but that they were the “opposite”.

“They do it with a combination of rhetoric and lawsuits they wrap me up in,” Trump said. “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.” 

“These are people that want to destroy our country,” Mr Trump said. “It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat.” 

US Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. speaks during a news conference about the attempted assassination attempt of Donald Trump, at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. Picture: AFP

RECAP THE EVENTS BELOW:

Originally published as Donald Trump says gunman at centre of his alleged assassination attempt ‘very dangerous’