‘Would have loved to have sunk that putt’: Donald Trump describes assassination bid

Donald Trump expresses frustration his would-be assassin interrupted his golf game as he describes the moment he realised he had been targeted for a second time | WATCH ROUTH’S ARREST

Donald Trump has described the moment he realised he had been targeted in a second apparent assassination attempt at his Florida golf course, telling cryptocurrency personality Farokh Sarmad in a discussion on X that he was playing golf with some of his friends when he heard gunshots.

Minutes later, members of the Secret Service rushed him away as they chased would-be assassin Ryan Wesley Routh, who was charged with two gun-related crimes in a court in Florida on Monday (Tuesday AEST).

“It was quite something, but it worked out well, and Secret Service did an excellent job, and they have the man behind bars, and hopefully there for a long time,” Mr Trump said.

“I would have loved to have sank that last putt, but we decided, let’s get out of here,” he said.

He also praised the person who spotted and reported the suspect and gave his registration number to police, helping them apprehend him minutes after he fled.

“The civilian did a phenomenal job,” Mr Trump said. “How many people would have the brainpower to follow him the back of his truck? … And the key was the licence. So they got the licence, and after they had the licence, you know, there’s all sorts of technology where they can literally pinpoint where this truck is.”

Mr Trump paid tribute to local law enforcement and the Secret Service, saying they did a “great job.”.

“They got him with a high-speed chase. … It was amazing. So Secret Service did a great job. And I think I can say honestly, the sheriff’s office, law enforcement, everybody really did a great job. Quite happy about that,” the former president said.

The former president said he still found certain things about the first attempt on his life were “pretty strange.”

“The first one they should learn more about,” he said. “They have apps that they haven’t opened yet, which is pretty strange. And the father went out and got the biggest lawyer in the state of Pennsylvania, which is pretty strange, the father of the shooter, we’re talking about in Butler, the first one. And that’s pretty strange,” he added.

Before Mr Trump went onto X from Mar-a-Lago to discuss the attempt, vice presidential nominee JD Vance told how he was with his 7-year-old son when Mr Trump called to tell him about it.

“I answer it and he says, ‘JD, you’re not going to believe this, but they tried to do it again.’ I said, ‘No, they did not, you’re joshing me. What’s going on here, sir?’ Mr Vance told an election event in Atlanta.

“And he says, ‘No, I, you know, I was playing golf, and the Secret Service found somebody who was trying to shoot me,’” Mr Vance said.

He added that Mr Trump told him he was “doing fine,” but was “a little mad” because he “was about to make a birdie.”

“He calls me right after. This is 10 minutes after, and he’s pissed off that they won’t let him finish his birdie putt right after they found a guy with an AK-47,” Mr Vance said.

Mr Trump has blamed Democrats’ incendiary political rhetoric Routh’s attempt on his life, saying “believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it” as Republicans blasted Democrats including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for routinely casting Trump as an existential threat.

“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,” Mr Trump told Fox News on the morning after the incident that’s rocked US politics 50 days from the presidential election.

Police body cam of the moment Wesley Routh was arrested by police.

The 58-year old Routh, who was captured by authorities after he had planned to shoot Trump on his private golf course on Sunday (Monday AEST), appeared in a federal court on Monday morning, where he was charged with possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and possession of a firearm by a felon.

The charges, expected to be the first of many as investigations continue, carry maximum penalties of 5 and 15 year respectively.

Police body cam of the moment Wesley Routh was arrested by police.

Court documents revealed Routh had been in the vicinity of the golf course, where he had set up with a rifle on the 6th hole behind bushes, for more than 11 hours, according to mobile one data, from around 2am to 1.30pm the following day after which he was arrested.

He had set up with a loaded, Soviet-era SKS-style semi-automatic rifle along with a GoPro digital camera, two back backs and food, before Secret Service agents spotted him and opened fire, the documents also alleged. The 12 hour wait and GoPro – which suggests he was planning to film himself in his alleged attack – suggests there had been some advanced planning before he arrived at the golf course.

“These are people that want to destroy our country,” Mr Trump told Fox, referring to Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. “It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat.”

At a press conference in West Palm Beach on Monday afternoon (Tuesday AEST) Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe praised his staff for neutralising the threat to the former president, citing a “unprecedented and hyperdynamic threat environment since July 13”, when a shooter last attempt to kill Trump.

Rowe, who also confirmed Routh didn’t manage to fire a shot after he was spotted, said the Service had been given additional resources with the support of Joe Biden since the July murder attempt, but had not staked out the entire perimeter of the golf course in advance of Trump’s arrival.

“It wasn’t a site on his schedule so there was no posting up of it because he wasn’t supposed to have gone there in the first place,” he said.

“Coming out of Butler, I have ordered a ‘paradigm shift…. We need to get out of a reactive model and get to a readiness model,” he added.

Rowe, who replaced Kimberly Cheatle who resigned in disgrace after the first assassination attempt on Mr Trump’s, also issued a stark warning: “There could be another geo-political event that could put the United States into a kinetic conflict or some other issue that may result in additional responsibilities and protectees of the United States Secret Service.”

Jeffrey Velti, the FBI special agent in charge, said at the same press conference that his organisation viewed the incident as “extremely serious”.

“We are investigating this matter as an apparent assassination attempt of former President Trump,” he added, noting the suspect in custody had “invoked his right to an attorney” during a first attempt at questioning.

He also revealed Routh from 1997 to 2010 “had numerous felony charges for stolen goods”, and the FBI had received a tip in 2019 that he was in possession of a stolen firearm.

The second attempt on Mr Trump’s life within nine weeks, before investigations into the first attempt in July which saw a bullet graze Mr Trump’s ear and kill an rally attendee in Butler, Pennsylvania, have concluded came 50 days before the presidential election on November 5.

The Trump campaign released a lengthy document of at least 50 quotes from prominent Democrats including Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Nancy Pelosi variously describing the former president as an existential threat to the US.

🚨 BREAKING: Trump campaign sends out a LONG LIST OF RECEIPTS of Democrats' rhetoric that "inspired another attempt on President Trump's life"

The campaign laid out over 50 unique quotes and provided sources for each. pic.twitter.com/V31HlPq8l8

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 16, 2024

Routh, who had donated to Democratic Party candidates and left-wing causes at least 19 times since 2019, and sported a Biden-Harris bumper sticker, in April wrote that “DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose”.

Mr Trump expanded on his claim in a social media post later in the day:

“The Rhetoric, Lies, as exemplified by the false statements made by Comrade Kamala Harris during the rigged and highly partisan ABC Debate, and all of the ridiculous lawsuits specifically designed to inflict damage on Joe’s, then Kamala’s, Political Opponent, ME, has taken politics in our Country to a whole new level of Hatred, Abuse, and Distrust. Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse!”

The Rhetoric, Lies, as exemplified by the false statements made by Comrade Kamala Harris during the rigged and highly partisan ABC Debate, and all of the ridiculous lawsuits specifically designed to inflict damage on Joe’s, then Kamala’s, Political Opponent, ME, has taken…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 16, 2024

Republican congressman Darrell Issa urged Vice President Harris “cool the rhetoric about Donald Trump before it gets him killed,” in a post on X on late Sunday.

Another Republican congressman, Dan Meuser, told Fox Business on Monday: “This rhetoric — calling him evil, calling him Hitler, how he’s an existential threat to democracy — OK, that diminished for about a week after July 13, and it came roaring back, particularly during their convention”.

Police body cam of the moment Wesley Routh was arrested by police.

“The question the FBI and Secret Service are laser-focused on today, is, is this guy part of a conspiracy? Is he a lone gunman?” Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told reporters Monday.

President Joe Biden, speaking at a university in Philadelphia on Monday, commended the Secret Service for swiftly apprehending the suspect after he earlier said they “need more help”.

“There is no place for political violence in America, none, zero, never … In America, we resolve our difference peacefully at the ballot box, not at the end of a gun,” he said.