The man who allegedly pointed his gun at Donald Trump donated to Democrats but was an ardent supporter of Donald Trump’s intra-party opponents.
It has been less than twelve hours since the alleged second attempt to shoot Donald Trump, and accusations are already circulating. The loudest ones are coming from the right and are blatantly pointing at the Democrats and other activists from the left-liberal spectrum. The tasteless highlight comes from the richest person in the world: “And no one is even trying to murder Biden/Kamala,” wrote Elon Musk on his network X. He left it open whether this was meant as “criticism”, a complaint or a request. He put a thoughtful emoji at the end of his post.
Who is Ryan Routh?
But from everything that is known about the suspected shooter so far, the man does not seem to be a staunch supporter of the Democrats, let alone a radical one. As US media unanimously report, the suspected perpetrator is 58-year-old Ryan Routh. He was seen aiming a rifle at the golfing ex-president in a bush at Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. He was able to escape after being discovered by bodyguards. He was later arrested on a highway near the crime scene.
Trump after attempted assassination: “I will never give up”
Ryan Routh was briefly in the public eye two years ago. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, he traveled to Kiev to support Ukraine. As a volunteer, he was interviewed by Western media. In a conversation with the US news site “Semafor,” Ryan Routh complained that the Ukrainian authorities were making things unnecessarily difficult for volunteer organizations from abroad.
“Working with Ukraine is often difficult. Many foreign soldiers leave the country after a week or have to move from unit to unit to find a place where they are respected and valued,” Routh told Semafor. “They are afraid that everyone is a Russian spy.”
Worked as a contractor in Hawaii
US broadcasters CNN and CBS report that, according to his LinkedIn profile, the 58-year-old studied engineering in North Carolina and moved to Hawaii in 2018. There he worked as a construction contractor. “I am currently building simple housing for those in need,” Routh said on the job network.
Politically, Routh was apparently a conservative swing voter. According to his Facebook and X accounts, he voted for Donald Trump in 2016. In the current election campaign, he donated money 19 times to the Democratic Party, but also to the former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, who switched to the Republicans, as well as to Trump’s intra-party opponents Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. The latter wanted to run for the US presidency themselves, but after their failure they supported Donald Trump.
Ryan Routh urged Republicans to keep going
Routh seemed particularly taken with Vivek Ramaswamy. After he announced his withdrawal from the primaries, he wrote him a message: “You can’t quit. Why not? You have to stay on the ballot until the end. You have to fight. You have to keep making speeches and keep going until election day, no matter what the outcome. Don’t give up. Join Nikki and keep working. Never give up.”
The building contractor seems to be a busy fellow anyway. According to reports, he asked X boss Elon Musk if he could buy a rocket: “I want to equip it with a warhead for Putin’s bunker on the Black Sea to destroy him. Can you please give me a price?”
Over the course of his life, Ryan Routh was arrested eight times, mostly for minor offenses. In 2022, for example, he was arrested for possession of a fully automatic machine gun.
“Donald Trump wants to enslave Americans”
Although Routh once voted for Trump, he seems to have distanced himself from him over the years. His social media posts in recent years have often been very critical of Trump: once, according to US media, he wrote about the then-incumbent US president: “Democracy is up for grabs, and we cannot lose. Trump wants to enslave Americans.”
Sources: CNN, Sky News, AFP, Semafor, “Hindustan Times”, Fox News, Elon Musk on X, “Daily Mail”
