The alleged gunman who authorities said targeted former President Donald Trump while he golfed in Florida on Sunday afternoon previously declared on social media that “Democracy is on the ballot” this year and “we cannot lose” — echoing the anti-Trump rhetoric used by Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden.
Law enforcement sources identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58.
Routh, who has a lengthy criminal record from North Carolina, frequently posted about politics and exclusively donated to Democratic candidates and causes dating back to 2019.
He also bashed Trump in an April 22 post on X in which he declared, “DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose.”
He advised Biden, 81, in an April 22 X post, when he was still running for re-election, to run a campaign around keeping “America democratic and free.”
He claimed Trump wants to “make Americans slaves against master.”
“DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose,” he wrote, a slogan similar to those commonly used by Biden and Harris.
“We cannot afford to fail,” Routh continued. “The world is counting on us to show the way.”
This is similar to language that Harris continues to use on the campaign trail. On Aug. 29, she said at a rally in Savannah, Ga., “We are fighting for our democracy.”
On July 31, she said at an event in Houston that “our fundamental freedoms are on the ballot and so is our democracy” — after using identical wording at a sorority event the same day.
Tom Fitton, president of the conservative legal group Judicial Watch, told The Post: “It is no coincidence that Routh repeated Kamala’s and Joe’s extremist rhetoric against Trump. At this point it is inexcusable incitement.”
Spokespeople for Biden and Harris did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Following the Trump assassination attempt in July, when the GOP nominee was wounded in the ear, he tweeted at Biden that he should visit the victims of the Pennsylvania rally where Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire and attend the funeral of the 50-year-old volunteer firefighter who was killed.
Routh was spotted by Secret Service agents near the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach with a Soviet-style SKS assault rifle, according to sources.
The agents opened fire on him, but he fled. Routh was later arrested on I-95 by local police.
His social media account was also filled with nonsensical tweets and replies while also voicing strong support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and Taiwan in its struggle against China.
One reply to X owner Elon Musk seemed to suggest purchasing a rocket from the billionaire.
“I would like to buy a rocket from you. I wish to load it with a warhead for Putin’s Black Sea mansion bunker to end him. Can you give me a price please. It can be old and used as not returning,” Routh wrote.
He claimed on X that he tried to “sell” the idea of having former Afghanistan troopers fight for Ukraine in Russia, but was denied multiple times before giving up after six months.
He also said he visited Kyiv and claimed he would be willing to fight on the front lines if he were permitted to.
In a 2022 interview with Newsweek Romania, Routh, wearing an American flag-style shirt, spoke about recruiting others to fight in Kyiv.
“The question as far as why I’m here. To me, a lot of the other conflicts are gray but this conflict is definitely black and white,” he said. “This is about good versus evil.”
“We need thousands and thousands and thousands of people here fighting with Ukrainians,” he added.
In an interview with Semafor a year later, Routh expressed frustration with Ukrainians.
“Ukraine is very often hard to work with,” he said. “Many foreign soldiers leave after a week in Ukraine or must move from unit to unit to find a place they are respected and appreciated.”
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