Trump describes assassination attempt in X Spaces conversation

Top line

Former President Donald Trump praised the Secret Service for doing a “fantastic job” Monday night and offered his first detailed account of what authorities say was an assassination attempt on him at his West Palm Beach golf club Sunday.

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has offered his first detailed statement … (+) report of Sunday’s assassination attempt in an X Spaces chat.

AFP via Getty Images

Key facts

In an interview with X Spaces, supposedly to promote his new cryptocurrency venture World Liberty Financial, Trump said he was playing golf with some of his friends when “all of a sudden we heard gunshots in the air… I guess it was probably four or five… and it sounded like bullets.”

Trump said the Secret Service agents accompanying him “immediately knew it was bullets, and they grabbed me” and whisked him away from the area in golf carts.

The former president said another officer on the course fired the shots he heard after spotting the barrel of a gun in the bushes, adding that the suspect never managed to fire, confirming what law enforcement officials have said.

Trump also praised a civilian in the area who took a photo of the suspect’s vehicle license plate and shared it with the sheriff’s office, calling it “a key” to his arrest.

Asked why he thought there was a second assassination attempt on him, the former president blamed Democrats, saying: “A lot of people think that Democrats, when they talk about ‘threat to democracy’ and all that, were radical leftists.”

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Crucial Quote

Of his phone call with President Joe Biden after Sunday’s incident, Trump said, “He was very nice today. He called me to make sure I was OK … he couldn’t have been nicer.” Biden also asked Trump if he needed more security personnel.

Key context

On Sunday, a Secret Service agent spotted a gun sticking out of a fence at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, and shot the shooter, who fled the scene, leaving behind an AK-47 rifle with a scope, two backpacks and a GoPro camera at the scene. The suspect was quickly arrested in neighboring Martin County after police, with the help of details provided by a witness who photographed his car, uncovered the incident. The FBI described the incident as an apparent “attempt to assassinate the former president.” The alleged shooter has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, and he has been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Routh could still face additional charges in the case. At a news conference Monday, Ronald Rowe Jr., the acting director of the Secret Service, said Routh did not shoot any agents before they shot him. According to a court complaint filed by authorities, location data from Routh’s phone showed he waited outside the golf course with his rifle for nearly 12 hours before he was spotted.

Tangent

The X Spaces interview with Trump was conducted by Farokh Sarmad, a crypto influencer. It was originally intended to promote the former president’s new cryptocurrency venture. During the interview, Trump talked about making the United States a major player in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector, warning, “If we don’t do it, China will.” The former president, however, didn’t provide details about the project known as World Liberty Financial, leaving it to his sons, two little-known crypto entrepreneurs, Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman. Herro described himself as the “shitbag of the internet,” while Folkman ran a service called “Date Hotter Girls,” where he gave seminars on how to pick up women.

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Crucial Quote

Key context

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