Staff Reports
Another day, another attempted assassination of Donald Trump. This time, a 58-year-old man named Ryan Wesley Routh took a shot—literally—at the former president while he was nearly living the dream on the golf course at Trump International in West Palm Beach, Florida. Armed with a scoped rifle, Routh’s intentions were as clear as his anti-Trump sentiments. It’s a classic case of “if, at first, you don’t succeed” for those who just can’t seem to let go of their obsession with harming the most famous Republican in the world. Fortunately, the Secret Service didn’t need a hole-in-one to save the day; they spotted the rifle poking through the bushes and managed to intervene before anyone got hurt. Routh’s great escape was thwarted soon after, as local authorities apprehended him without any fuss—probably because fleeing from justice doesn’t score points in the anti-Trump playbook.
As details emerged, evidence pointed to the fact that Routh wasn’t just some run-of-the-mill nut job. In fact, he had a penchant for advocating Ukraine for reasons that would make anyone with common sense raise an eyebrow. Known to chat up journalists from the New York Times with a level of confidence that would make even seasoned politicians blush, Routh carved a niche for himself in the anti-Trump and pro-Ukraine circles. His crusade included plans that undoubtedly seemed noble to his ilk, including recruiting Afghan fighters who fled the Taliban. While this might sound like the plot of a Hollywood action flick, it’s hard to forget that this is also the same guy who threatened violence against anyone who dared disagree with him.
There it is — the suspect in the second Trump assassination attempt was banned from owning a gun, but still had one with the serial number scratched out pic.twitter.com/4r1mTB57Qg
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) September 16, 2024
Routh’s foray into geopolitics is as chaotic as one would expect from a guy with a sniper rifle aimed at a golf course. It turns out he was once in D.C. aiming to impress the Helsinki Commission, a group that devotes time to securing democracy around the world. Routh came off like a wannabe diplomat discussing his big plans to back Ukraine, clearly with fantasies of transforming into some sort of international hero. But really, his drama read more like a sad Twitter rant than a show of true diplomacy. Instead of brilliance, he exhibited a unique blend of zeal and paranoia, suggesting Afghan commandos were prime candidates for foreign warfare despite the fact that Ukrainians were skeptical and barely interested in adding more chaos to their already tumultuous situation.
When Routh wasn’t busy plotting and complaining about how uncooperative Ukrainian officials were, he was dabbling in the quirky realm of social media, tweeting at Ukrainian President Zelenskyy with suggestions that would make even the most optimistic project manager shake their head in disbelief. He even had the gall to recommend creating a tent city in Independence Park for foreign supporters—a plan no one really wanted to take seriously. It’s almost heartwarming to see someone so committed yet so bewildered about the realities of international conflict.
The icing on the cake is that Routh wasn’t just an anonymous face in a crowd of political wannabes; he was actually featured in pro-Ukrainian commercials, or as they say, “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” This tends to raise the question of whether there’s a trend of featuring individuals with deep-seated anti-Trump sentiments in high-profile ads—it’s like the universe is trying to send a message that only the left seems to hear. And if that’s not a sophisticated game of political chess, it’s hard to say what is.
On this wild ride of politics gone haywire, Routh stands as yet another reminder of how some will go to extreme lengths in their fervent quest to undermine the man who left the White House with a punchline. While the anti-Trump crowd does their best to rewrite history—and seemingly, their sanity—Trump keeps swinging for the greens, leaving a trail of outraged progressives in his wake.
