On September 15, former President Donald Trump was the target of a second attempted assassination. The suspect is identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 56, who is in custody after being identified as a man seen with a rifle at Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Fla. The incident began around 1:30 p.m. ET on the Trump International golf course where the former president was playing. It ended miles away after Routh’s vehicle was spotted on Interstate 95. It occurred two months after Trump was grazed on the top of his right ear in Butler, Pa. at a Trump rally. Trump was safe following the second assassination attempt.
PRESIDNT BIDEN AND VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS REACT
President Biden reacted and said this about the assassination attempt:
“I am relieved that the former President is unharmed. … There is an active
investigation into this incident as law enforcement gathers more details about what happened. As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country.”
On September 15, speaking at the 2024 National HBCU Week Conference in Philadelphia, President Biden said this:
“I’ve always condemned political violence, and I always will. … In America, we resolve our differences peacefully at the ballot box, not at the end of a gun. America suffered too many times the tragedy of an assassin’s bullet. It solves nothing. It just tears the country apart. We must do everything we can to prevent it and never give it any oxygen.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, echoed Biden’s sentiments in a statement of her own and said this:
“I am deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt of former President Trump today. … As we gather the facts, I will be clear: I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence.”
Harris said she is “thankful that former President Trump is safe” and reiterated Biden’s pledge to make sure the Secret Service is equipped to “carry out its critical mission.”
FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP BLAMES BIDEN AND HARRIS
On September 16, in an exclusive interview on Fox News Digital, former President Trump said it was President Biden and Vice President Harris’ “rhetoric” against him that is causing him to be “shot at.” Trump told Fox News Digital that the suspected gunman “acted” on “highly inflammatory language” of Democrats. Trump said this:
“[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. … They do it with a combination of rhetoric and lawsuits they wrap me up in. … These are the things that dangerous fools, like the shooter, listen to — that is the rhetoric they listen to, and the same with the first one.”
Trump pointed to Biden and Harris’ past comments casting Trump as a “threat to democracy,” while telling Americans they are “unity” leaders. Trump said this:
“They are the opposite. … These are people that want to destroy our country. … It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat.”
Would be assassin Routh previously echoed Biden and Harris’ anti-Trump comments, that “Democracy is on the ballot” on his social media pages this year, and that Democrats “cannot lose.”
Democrats, meanwhile, have repeatedly blamed Trump for his inflammatory rhetoric and have accused him of being a “threat to democracy,” particularly in regards to his Jan. 6, 2021 speech inciting the riot at the U.S. Capitol. Biden has also suggested that Trump was trying to incite violence with his comments about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.
TRUMP’S EXTENSIVE HISTORY OF INCITING VIOLENCE
It is so very disgusting that Trump is blaming President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala for the second assassination attempt. For that reason, Trumps extensive history of inciting violence and attacks on others merits review.
THEIR EATING CATS AND DOGS
During the September 10 debate between Trump and Vice President Harris, Trump aggressively asserted false and debunked claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield Ohio were abducting and eating pets, repeating during the televised debate the type of inflammatory and anti-immigrant rhetoric he has promoted throughout both of his campaigns for President.
There is no evidence that Haitian immigrants in the Ohio community are doing that, officials say. But during the debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump specifically said that in Springfield Ohio, immigrants were taking over the city. Trump said this:
“They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
Trump’s comments echoed claims made by his campaign, including his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, and other Republicans. Harris for her part called Trump “extreme” and laughed in his face after his comment. Debate moderators pointed out that city officials have said the claims are false. Springfield City and Ohio State Officials have said there have been no credible or detailed reports about the claims, even as Trump and his allies use them to amplify racist stereotypes about Black and brown immigrants.
BOMB THREATS MADE IN SPRINGFIELD
On September 16, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said at a news conference after he met with city officials that at least 33 bomb threats have been made in Springfield, Ohio, since the false claims pushed by former President Donald Trump and his running mate Ohio Senator JD. Vance surfaced about Haitian migrants’ eating people’s pets. Sen. JD Vance spread online the false claim that Haitian migrants were causing problems in Springfield and that “[r]eports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”
Last week, schools in the city of around 58,000 were evacuated after bomb threats were reported. City Hall also received a threat against city facilities. Some targeted Springfield schools, including elementary school campuses. Governor Mike DeWine said this at a news conference after he met with city officials:
“Our children deserve to be in school. Parents deserve to feel that their children are being educated and that their children are safe.”
More than 15,000 Haitians live and work in Springfield, Ohio. Haitian migrants have been granted Temporary Protected Status by the U.S. government because of unrest in Haiti, including violent by gangs ruling the streets.
Republican Goverer DeWine, a strong Trump ally, defended the Haitian migrants working in Springfield. He said that Trump, Vance and any other politicians has a right to talk about immigration and issues at the U.S.-Mexico border and that “it is a legitimate issue.” However, DeWine said this:
“I have a job, though, in regard to people who are here legally in Springfield and a community that is, you know, people are making comments about them. I have an obligation to speak out. … “Following what the mayor has said, what the city manager has said and what the chief of police has said is: We have no evidence that anyone is eating someone’s pets in Springfield, Ohio.”
OTHER INCIDENTS OF PROMOTING VIOLENCE
There have been numerous instances where Trump has incited violence.
On March 28, Former President Donald Trump shared a video on social media that included an image of President Joe Biden bound and restrained in the back of a pickup truck. The 20-second video, which Trump indicated was taken in Long Island, New York, shows a truck emblazoned with “Trump 2024” and a large picture depicting Biden tied up and lying on his side.
Trump was in Long Island for the wake of fallen NYPD officer Jonathan Diller.
When reached for comment on the image in the video, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said, “That picture was on the back of a pick up truck that was traveling down the highway.” Cheung also accused “Democrats and crazed lunatics” of calling for violence against Trump and his family, arguing that “they are actually weaponizing the justice system against him.”
Cheung pointed to comments by Biden in 2018, before he declared his candidacy, when he said that if he and Trump were in high school he’d “take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him” if he heard him demeaning women.
Biden campaign spokesman Michael Tyler slammed Trump for posting the video.
“This image from Donald Trump is the type of crap you post when you’re calling for a bloodbath or when you tell the Proud Boys to ‘stand back and stand by. Trump is regularly inciting political violence and it’s time people take him seriously — just ask the Capitol Police officers who were attacked protecting our democracy on January 6.”
Trump has previously used violent imagery and rhetoric, both in his 2024 presidential campaign and before. On March 16, he vowed that there would be a “bloodbath” if he was not re-elected, while speaking about the economy. Last year, before his numerous indictments, Trump warned about “potential death and destruction” if he were to be charged in the Manhattan district attorney’s hush money case against him.
Trump also shared an article on Truth Social that had an image of him with a baseball bat near Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s head. The post was deleted. Trump also used his Truth Social platform to go after Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the hush money case, as well as the judge’s daughter after being hit with a partial gag order.
The link to the quoted news story with photos is here:
On January 23, 2016, Donald Trump said at a rally in Sioux Center that his supporters are so loyal that he would not lose backers even if he were to shoot someone in the middle of downtown Manhattan, New York City and said this:
“I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, okay, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, okay? … It’s, like, incredible.”
On February 21, 2016, Trump told a crowd of his supporters in Cedar Rapids that he would pay their legal fees if they engaged in violence against protesters and said this:
“If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously, OK? Just knock the hell out of them … I promise you I will pay for the legal fees. I promise, I promise.”
http://time.com/4203094/donald-trump-hecklers/
On March 9, 2016, as a protester was being escorted out of a Trump rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, the protester was sucker-punched by another attendee and Trump said nothing when it was brought to his attention.
At a Las Vegas campaign rally in March, 2016 Trump said security guards were too gentle with a protester and said “He’s walking out with big high-fives, smiling, laughing. … I’d like to punch him in the face, I’ll tell you.”
In yet another campaign rally in March, 2016 in Warren, Michigan, Trump said of a protester “Get him out. …Try not to hurt him. If you do, I’ll defend you in court. Don’t worry about it.”
In July 2017 during a speech to police officials, Trump encourage law enforcement officials to be more violent in handling arrested offenders when he said:
“When you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, you just seen them thrown in, rough. I said, ‘Please don’t be too nice … When you guys put somebody in the car and you’re protecting their head you know, the way you put their hand over [their head],” Trump continued, mimicking the motion. “Like, don’t hit their head and they’ve just killed somebody, don’t hit their head. … You can take the hand away, OK?’”
During a rally in Montana ahead of the 2018 midterms, Trump praised Republican Greg Gianforte for body slamming a reporter while running for his congressional seat in 2017 and said “any guy who can do a body slam, he is my type!”
PIPE BOMBS SENT TO TRUMP CRITICS BY TRUMP SUPPORTER
In October, 2018, 14 pipe bombs were sent to Democrats who were outspoken critics of President Trump and people who he has vilified at his political rallies and on TWITTER.
The New York Times reported that on October 26, 2018 Federal authorities made an arrest in connection with the nationwide bombing campaign against outspoken Democratic critics of President Trump. The suspect was identified as Cesar Sayoc Jr., 56, of Aventura, Florida. Sayoc is a registered Republican. He has a lengthy criminal history in Florida dating back to 1991. Sayoc’s criminal record includes felony theft, drug and fraud charges, as well as being arrested and accused of threatening to use a bomb.
Pipe bombs were sent to the home addresses of:
Former President Barack Obama
Former Vice President Joe Biden
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Former United States Attorney General Eric Holder
Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John O. Brennan
California Congresswoman Maxine Waters
Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Billionaire philanthropist George Soros
Actor Robert Di Nero
A pipe bomb was also delivered to the offices of CNN in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
During his arrest, Sayvoc’s white van was also seized as evidence. The van’s windows were plastered with a thick collage of pro-Trump stickers. Photos of the van showed that one of the stickers depicted President Trump standing in front of flames and the American flag. Another was of Hillary Clinton’s face in the crosshairs of a rifle scope. A third said: “CNN SUCKS.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/nyregion/cnn-cory-booker-pipe-bombs-sent.html
Photos and video emerged of Sayvoc attending a February, 2017 Trump Rally in Melbourne, Florida. He was holding a placard reading “CNN SUCKS”. Social media posts maintained by Cesar Sayoc Jr., contain conspiratorial memes promoting President Trump and mocking, criticizing and threatening virtually every prominent Democrat he sent a pipe bomb.
One post involving former Attorney General Eric Holder appointed by President Obama said “See you real soon. Tick Tock”.
In a September TWEET to former Vice President Joe Biden a person wrote:
“Hug your beloved son, Niece, wife family real close every time U walk out your home.”
On Wednesday, October 24, 2018, after a briefing with FBI, DOJ, Homeland Security and Secret Service and during a subsequent White House function, President Trump had this to say about the “pipe bomber”:
“The safety of the American people is my highest and absolute priority. … The full weight of our government is being deployed to conduct and bring those responsible for these despicable acts to justice. We will spare no resources or expense in this effort. And I wanted to tell you that, in these times, we have to unify, we have to come together, and send one very clear, strong, unmistakable message, that that acts or threats of political violence have no place in the United States of America.”
On Thursday, October 25, 2018, despite his lofty proclamations that “the safety of the American people is my highest and absolute priority’” and the very a day after CNN and Democrats were the targets of the pipe bombs, Trump in a TWEET blamed the media for much of the “anger” in society by saying:
“A very big part of the anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News. It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!”
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/25/politics/trump-blames-media-for-anger-after-attacks/index.html
JANUARY 6, 2020 CAPITAL RIOT
On the Morning of January 6, a defeated Donald Trump for reelection spoke to thousands of his upset and angry supporters in Washington, DC in front of the White House before the Congress was to schedule to accept the electoral college vote as mandated by the United States Constitution and electing Joe Biden President. As usual, Trump’s speech was inflammatory and full of lies. Trump told the crowd that the election had been “rigged” by “radical democrats” and the “fake news media” and he said in part:
“We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn’t happen. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved. … Our country has had enough. We’re not going to take it anymore.”
Not at all surprising, Trump stoked his followers to take action and head to capitol hill to protest and said:
“And after this, we’re going to walk down there, and I’ll be there with you, we’re going to walk down … to the Capitol and we are going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women. … And we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. You’re the real people. You’re the people that built this nation. You’re not the people that tore down this nation.”
Soon after Trump spoke, his supporters believing all Trumps lies that the election was rigged, when it was not, went to the United States Capitol to protest. The Congress had already begun the process of counting and certifying the electoral college vote. A mob was able to breach security and successfully enter the building, where one person was shot and later died.
Hundreds of pro-Trump protesters pushed through barriers set up along the perimeter of the Capitol, where they engaged with officers in full riot gear, some calling police officers “traitors” for doing their jobs. About 90 minutes later the domestic terrorists got into the building and the doors to the House and Senate were locked. Shortly after, the House floor was evacuated by police. Vice President Mike Pence was also evacuated from the chamber, he was to perform his role in the counting of electoral votes. Some of the terrorists had even started to chant “HANG MIKE PENCE, HANG MIKE PENCE”.
The protesters first breached exterior security barriers, and video footage showed the domestic terrorists gathering and some clashing with police near the Capitol building. A number of Trump terrorists climbed up the side of the Capitol building to gain access. Windows were broken to gain access. Protesters roamed the interior of the building and went to the House Chamber and congressional offices and did property damage. In the end, 6 people died, one domestic terrorist shot and killed by capitol police with one capitol police officer succumbing to his injuries.
Within 7 hours after protestors took over the Capitol building and after they were evacuated from the building, the Congress returned to work and about 4:30 am in the morning on January 7, President Joe Biden was elected the new President of the United Sates. The final electoral college vote was Joe Biden 306 electoral votes, Donald Trump 232 electoral votes.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Both assassination attempts on Trump are nothing more than a reflection of just how seriously divided this country has become mostly because of Trump. The first assassin was killed but not before wounding Trump as well as killing one and critically injuring two spectators. The second assassin was at least caught and will likely spend the rest of his life in federal prison.
There is no place for violence, political or otherwise, in this country. We are in dangerous times and we must appeal to our better angels. The political rhetoric and acts of violence in this country must stop and it should be condemned in no uncertain terms by all.
For the last 8 years, there is little doubt that Trump promoted hostility, mistrust and violence towards the press as well as his critics with his words and conduct. Trump promoted violence, hostility and mistrust when he first ran for President and he is doing it again as he runs in 2024 for a second term.
Now that Trump is twice a victim of gun violence himself, it is clear he has no intention of toning down his rhetoric of violence as he plays the martyr and escalates things even further and continues with his lying ways.