Staff Reports
Ryan Wesley Routh’s attempted assassination of then-President-elect Donald J. Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach is a grim reminder of the volatility surrounding the man who dares to challenge the political status quo. With a scoped SKS-style rifle and a GoPro, Routh thought he’d turn a leisurely day of golf into a tragic headline. After hiding in the bushes for a grueling twelve hours, he was poised to make his move when Trump came within a mere 300 to 500 yards. But bless the stars, Routh didn’t pull the trigger. It appears even a would-be assassin has his off days.
The real circus began when a Secret Service agent, spotting the suspicious rifle barrel poking out from the shrubbery, opened fire. One would expect a hit from a trained agent at five feet away, but in a shocking display of marksmanship, this agent managed to miss Routh six times. One cannot help but wonder if the agent was aiming for the wrong bush! Calling in the department’s marksmen might be a smart idea, considering missing a target that close is more puzzling than a rookie losing a game of darts at the local bar.
🚨BIG NEWS🚨
Jonathan Willis, the officer in the famous photo of the two snipers on the roof at Trump's rally, has informed the public that he had the assassin in his sights for at least 3 minutes, but the head of the Secret Service refused to give the order to take out the… pic.twitter.com/rIDK0Ttgmn— Giordano Bruno (@GioBruno1600) July 14, 2024
Things took an even more bewildering turn when the House Task Force, charged with investigating assassination attempts against Trump, revealed a significant lack of cooperation from the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service regarding this incident. It appears that the various agencies involved have been playing a game of hide-and-seek with vital documents, making the already murky waters of political assassination attempts even murkier. The implication that these agencies are slow-walking their responses is just another reminder of how entrenched the bureaucracy is in covering its tracks.
The Task Force’s report on the attempted assassination outlined some “preexisting conditions and leadership failures” that may have led to security oversights at the golf course. Apparently, the agents had already identified that the golf course’s outer perimeter had enough weak points to make a sniper giddy. If the agents knew that snipers could take advantage of the area, one has to ask — what went wrong? Were they too busy trying to keep track of Trump’s latest golf score to make a contingency plan for a potential ambush?
As the congressional investigation rolls on, one thing is clear: those responsible for protecting life and liberty can’t seem to get their act together. While it’s sad to say, a well-armed man in the bushes should start inciting conversations about national security rather than providing slapstick comedy material for a tragedy. The uncoordinated response here may inspire more confidence in the sitcoms of yesteryear than in the agencies meant to ensure the safety of the president. It is a comedy of errors that illustrates the dangers of government inefficiency when the stakes couldn’t be higher.
