Staff Reports
The recent foiled attempt on Donald Trump’s life at his own golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, paints a troubling picture of the current political climate. After Ryan Wesley Routh was caught trying to take aim from behind the bushes, one can’t help but wonder if this is what happens when political rhetoric goes too far. Trump emerged unscathed, likely more annoyed at the interruption of his game than anything else.
Ryan Wesley Routh is a character straight out of a disturbing thriller. His voting history is telling—registered as a Democrat in North Carolina since 2012, Routh was not just a voter but a donor to several Democratic presidential candidates through the ActBlue platform. The irony couldn’t be thicker: a man who once expressed disillusionment with Trump now appears to embody the extremes of the very progressivism he supported. After his Twitter tirades declared that he couldn’t wait for Trump to be gone, it’s clear that Routh was not just a former fan. This was someone who seemed to believe he was on a mission.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, is the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt on former Pres. Trump in Florida on Sunday.
Here's what we know about the suspect so far: https://t.co/HJN7N9pHB9 pic.twitter.com/lnwrMvgJfR
— ABC News (@ABC) September 16, 2024
Routh’s past is equally alarming. His criminal record demonstrates that he’s no stranger to violent behavior. In a 2002 standoff with police that lasted three hours, he took barricading to a new level, armed with a fully automatic machine gun. Surprisingly, he didn’t end up rotting away in prison or, as one officer thought, six feet under. Instead, he continued blending into society, until now when he thought it wise to bring his misguided anger to the golf course.
While the left often portrays themselves as champions of peace and democracy, Routh seemed to have a warped understanding of these ideals. On social media, he called for Biden and Harris to attend the funerals of Trump rally attendees, claiming that any real concern for their well-being was beyond the reach of Trump. Routh also proudly promoted ideas of volunteering to fight in Ukraine, and fueled his fantasies by posting seriously questionable statements about burning down the Kremlin. Yet his intentions are now under scrutiny after he took a dramatic turn towards violent action at the golf course.
The saga unfolded with Routh hiding in the bushes with an “AK-47 style rifle” and a GoPro—because when plotting something nefarious, one must document the whole absurd event for posterity. He was caught in the act not by some super-spy agency, but by a Secret Service agent who just happened to notice a suspicious barrel peeking out from the foliage. After a hasty escape and a car chase, he was apprehended without causing harm, leaving many to question what motivates someone to go this far. Will this serve as a wake-up call about the dangers of unchecked political fanaticism? Probably not—Routh is merely the latest in a string of incidents that highlight the disturbing trend of radicalism on the left. The stakes have never been higher, and if the left continues down this path, the divide only grows deeper.
