In West Palm Beach, Trump was whisked away from an apparent assassination attempt on Sunday afternoon.
Before the alleged assassin’s arrest on Sunday, “poor man’s surveillance” may have been employed by Ryan Routh, the suspect in the second failed assassination attempt against Trump, as he waited outside for roughly 12 hours to target the 45th president of the United States near the golf club.
Former NYPD officer and executive protection specialist Bill Stanton joined Fox News Digital Tuesday to discuss security lapses surrounding the second attempt at murder on Trump’s life. While Stanton speculates that the suspect may have done something as simple as using a laser focus on Trump, what he calls “Forrest Gump focus” in a nod to the 1994 classic film, and merely Googled Trump’s regular noncampaign activities to stake out a location, it has not been confirmed by law enforcement how Routh knew Trump would be on that golf course that Sunday afternoon.
“He could have done a journeyman’s research on Google by searching for “Where does Trump generally go when he’s home in Florida?” before going to Trump’s golf club in Fort Lauderdale,” Stanton added.
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Stanton said, “If I’m that guy, I’m doing that, and then I’m going to do a poor man’s surveillance,” the suspect would watch for Trump’s caravan to approach the course.
“[Trump] probably has a lead car in. He’s probably got two cars, the chase car and his main car. That’s the little motorcade right there. Not to mention an advance vehicle, that’s three cars minimum. Four cars over there abouts, and [Routh] could’ve known that,” Stanton said, indicating Routh was likely staking out the club awaiting Trump’s motorcade.
Just after 2 p.m. Sunday, word came that shots had been fired in its vicinity and that Trump had since been safely removed from the course at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach. The suspect in what is being investigated as a possible assassination attempt was identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii. Trump was unhurt.
On Monday, federal investigators filed charging documents in the alleged assassination attempt by Routh. Investigators determined Routh’s phone stayed near the golf club from about 1:59 a.m. Sunday until about 1:31 p.m. Sunday, or about 12 hours.
Agents requested that T-Mobile provide law enforcement with records of Routh’s cell phone activity on an expedited basis. Based on those records, on September 15, from approximately 1:59 AM to 1:31 PM, Routh’s cell phone was in the area of the location along the tree line,” says the charging document.
After he allegedly pointed an AK-47-style weapon over a chain-link fence toward the golf course where Trump was playing, Routh was arrested just after 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. While the president was guarded by the US Secret Service on the golf course, they saw the muzzle of the rifle and shot at the suspect.
Though officials have not confirmed how Routh knew of Trump’s whereabouts, Trump’s love for golf has been documented quite well throughout his political career.
On weekends and holidays when he is not on the campaign trail, Trump can often be found on the golf course. Trump loves playing golf during his presidency. However, left-leaning media outlets mocked him for this pastime, keeping count of how many days he spent on the links and comparing the numbers to how often former President Obama hit the links.
This week, a New York Post article revealed that Routh spends much of his time playing in or near the golf course.
Stanton did explain that, though everyone is a creature of habit, the Secret Service does need to accommodate Trump’s schedule.
In that regard, former president Trump has no right to have his activities curtailed. The Secret Service should adjust to President Trump’s wishes and travel plans, not vice versa. The tail does not wag the dog. Stanton, author of the 2019 book “Prepared Not Scared: Your Go-To Guide for Staying Safe in an Unsafe World,” added, “The dog wags the tail.”
Everybody is a creature of routine, at least when they’re in their own home. We think we aren’t. In the real world, we behave a lot like Google’s predictive models: we go to buy coffee. We go to the gym, and so on. With Trump, it’s now a bit more esoteric since he’s all over the place,” Stanton said.
Trump blamed Democrats’ rhetoric, including from Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden, for the Sunday attempt on his life in an interview with Fox Digital on Monday.
Trump, in the same interview, said: “[The suspect] believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it.” “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out.”
“It is called the internal enemy. The real danger is them,” Trump added.
Stanton told Fox Digital in a comment that people could become “self-radicalized” with the “perfect storm of increased political rhetoric” the United States is experiencing today.
“These are your keyboard warriors. It’s like a fix. He said, “They go out and spew all of their anger and abuse on the internet. “These people have been given license from the internet to splash around in their own insanity. When the medicine is gone, you can see it make the transition from the virtual world of “The Matrix” to reality.”
Stanton said that the attempt may have been even worse had it been made by skilled experts or a “supervillain” who managed to score an “unfortunate touchdown” against the 45th president and get as close to Trump as Routh.
“This mentally ill person, Routh, by every definition, is essentially a loser, if you will, using that colloquial term. He penetrates a few hundred yards in. To put this in perspective, think of when you may have been a part of some tight-knit group of two or three people, Stanton said.
The security expert asked that Trump receive the “highest levels” of protection but not full presidential protection, which would entail shutting down major thoroughfares and grounding aeroplanes.
“We see trillions of dollars getting thrown around, and you’re telling me you can’t add enhanced personnel on someone who’s already been targeted,” Stanton said.
Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the officers who protected Trump on Sunday “true heroes” and told Fox News Digital that the 45th president has repeatedly called on the federal government to provide additional protection.
“President Trump would like to express his thanks to his personal USSS detail for their rapid response and heroism in the face of yet another assassination attempt. “President Trump has repeatedly asked for more resources to protect himself,” she said.
Sifting through what was believed to be Routh’s social media accounts over the weekend, Fox News Digital found that he often wrote about Trump, the war in Ukraine, the 2020 election, and the attempt on Trump’s life in July at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“You and Biden should go to the hospital and see the injured Trump rally attendees and the fireman’s funeral. Show the world what it means to have some compassion and humanity. Trump would never do anything for them,” Routh said in a July 17 reply message to Harris’ X account, for example.
Another X post from April 22, seems to paraphrase a line in common use by the Harris campaign: “DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose.”
“KADAF could be a cool name for your movement. Save democracy and freedom in America. Trump should be MASA; he’s supposed to make Americans slaves again. We can’t lose because DEMOCRACY is on the ballot. We really can’t lose. Before Biden dropped out of the race this summer and Harris became the leader of the Democratic ticket, the account said, “The world is counting on us to show the way.”
Also, Routh said on X during the 2020 election season that Trump was his “choice” in 2016, but then he took a complete 180-degree turn.
As for how Routh knew Trump would be visiting the course on Sunday, Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI and the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office for comment but did not hear back in time. The Secret Service forwarded that same question to the FBI when Fox Digital asked it.
After officials issued a BOLO, or “be on the lookout” alert to law enforcement agencies on Sunday afternoon, Routh was taken into custody in his car on I-95.
Before making an initial court appearance in the case, Routh was seen smiling and laughing on Monday morning as he was led before federal judges.
He has been indicted on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Officials had warned that more accusations would be forthcoming against him.
A bail hearing for Routh has been scheduled for September 23, to be followed by an arraignment on September 30.
