Suspect in Trump Golf Course Incident Had Ambiguous Politics

On Sept. 15, 2024, former U.S. President Donald Trump was enjoying a spherical of golf at his membership in West Palm Seashore, Florida, when a Secret Service agent patrolling the course forward of him observed the barrel of a rifle sticking by means of a fence. The agent opened hearth and a person fled.

A suspect, Ryan Routh, was arrested later that day and charged with two federal firearm counts, based on The New York Times. Information of the incident, which regulation enforcement officers mentioned was presumably a foiled try to assassinate Trump, unfold like wildfire on-line. 

As with the tried assassination of Trump two months earlier in Butler, Pennsylvania, pundits from either side of the political spectrum posted claims that Routh’s politics had been reverse their very own: Democrats referred to as him a Republican, whereas Republicans referred to as him a Democrat.

For instance, Laura Loomer, a outstanding determine from the far proper, urged on X that Routh was “AN AVID BIDEN-HARRIS SUPPORTER WHO CALLED DONALD TRUMP A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY.” Different conservative accounts making comparable statements, together with the tabloid the New York Post, claimed Routh had donated solely to Democrats lately.

In the meantime, Ed Krassenstein, a left-leaning social media pundit, wrote on X that Routh was a Republican. Other posts from left-leaning customers alleged that Routh had voted for Trump in 2016.

Nevertheless, proof from social media, public information and a self-published e-book counsel that Routh’s politics didn’t neatly align with the labels that pundits utilized to him.

In keeping with the Federal Elections Commission marketing campaign finance database, Routh made political contributions 19 instances between Sept. 15, 2019, and March 16, 2020, totaling $140.40. That point interval corresponded to the 2020 presidential major, and all of these donations had been made to ActBlue, probably the most outstanding PAC that provides cash to Democratic candidates.

Nevertheless, memos on lots of the donations revealed that the funds had been earmarked for sure candidates. None of them had been for Joe Biden or then-Sen. Kamala Harris, opposite to Loomer’s declare. As an alternative, there have been donations to businessman Tom Steyer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, businessman Andrew Yang and then-Democrat Tulsi Gabbard. 

In the meantime, it might be unimaginable to show how Routh voted within the 2016 and 2020 elections as a result of that data shouldn’t be publicly accessible. As an alternative, we will have a look at Routh’s now-deleted social media feeds and his voter registration.

In keeping with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Routh has connections to North Carolina and Hawaii. Accessing Hawaii’s voter registration database requires a Hawaii state ID, that means that we couldn’t test whether or not Routh ever voted there. Nevertheless, North Carolina’s voter registration database is publicly accessible. 

Routh’s voting registration in North Carolina didn’t checklist him as a Democrat or a Republican, however unaffiliated with both get together. In keeping with the voting historical past part, Routh voted within the 2024 Democratic major in-person, however had not voted since 2012 previous to that date.

It’s value noting that this contradicts different proof. The Associated Press uncovered a 2023 e-book written by Routh referred to as “Ukraine’s Unwinnable Struggle” that was self-published on Amazon. In keeping with the article, Routh wrote within the e-book that Iran was “free to assassinate Trump,” and referred to as the previous president a “idiot” and “buffoon.” He described himself as somebody who as soon as voted for Trump however whose optimism had since soured. Voting with Trump (presumably in 2016 and/or 2020) doesn’t align with the North Carolina information.

Though Routh’s varied social media accounts have since been deleted, respected news outlets who appeared into them reported that Routh had posts each supporting and opposing Trump (once more, whether or not he voted for Trump is unconfirmed) and that he had turned strongly towards the previous president lately.

A lot of his posts centered across the ongoing warfare in Ukraine. Within the weeks after Russian troops invaded, Routh posted on X that he was prepared to “volunteer and battle and die” within the battle towards Russia, based on NPR. Though Routh did spend time in Ukraine, the place he was documented collaborating in a number of anti-Russian protests, he was turned down from volunteering within the Ukrainian navy. 

He started making an attempt recruit overseas volunteers from Afghanistan to battle on the entrance strains by means of social media, with none success. In keeping with NPR, the Ukrainian navy mentioned his makes an attempt had been “delusional concepts,” and his affords of huge numbers of manpower had been “not sensible.” 

In his e-book, Routh wrote that he didn’t wish to be regarded as affiliated with both get together.

“I get so uninterested in folks asking me if I’m a Democrat or Republican as I refuse to be put in a class,” he wrote, according to the AP. 

Sources