The man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at his golf club on Sunday had called on the Iranian regime to kill the former president in a book he self-published with his wife, Kathleen Shaffer.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, apologizes to Iranians and said he blamed himself for having voted for Trump in 2016 in “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War,” a rambling account of his views on foreign affairs.
“I must take part of the blame for the retarded child that we elected for our next president that ended up being brainless, but I am man enough to say that I misjudged and made a terrible mistake and Iran I apologize,” Routh writes in the book, which was self-published last year.
“You are free to assassinate Trump as well as me for that error in judgment and the dismantling of the [nuclear] deal. No one here in the US seems to have the balls to put natural selection to work or even unnatural selection,” he added.
Two years after he was elected, Trump scuttled US participation in a nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions that had been lifted under a deal which was put into place in 2015.
In addition to Trump, Routh also called for the assassination of Vladimir Putin in the book, which is available on Amazon and was edited by Shaffer, 61, a manager at Old Navy in Hawaii, according to her LinkedIn profile.
“We all ponder as to why our great minds did not sijmply kill Hitler early on, and now why have we not taken steps to kill Putin at all costs to end this war,” Routh writes.
Here’s what we know about the assassination attempt on Trump in Florida:
- Former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach on Sept. 15, 2024.
- Trump sent out a statement to supporters soon after to report that he was “SAFE AND WELL.”
- The suspect — identified as Ryan Routh, 58, of Hawaii — was able to get within 300 to 500 yards of Trump at a chain link fence on the edge of the course, where he had an AK-47 and a GoPro camera set up, apparently to record the planned shooting.
- Routh has a history of supporting progressive causes online and has made 19 donations to Democratic candidates since 2019.
- A Secret Service agent spotted and opened fire on Routh as he put his gun through the fence. The suspect fled and was arrested on I-95 a short time later.
- According to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, Trump’s security detail was lighter because he isn’t a sitting president — despite the previous attempt on his life in July.
Routh was allegedly encountered by Secret Service agents on Sunday near the fifth and sixth holes at Trump’s golf course near his Mar-a-Lago resort.
After seeing Routh’s gun poking out of bushes, one agent shot at him, causing him to abandon his weapon and sniper post, where he had been for almost 12 hours, and run.
He managed to get to his car and drive off, but a witness photographed it, including the license plate, and he was arrested while driving on I-95 shortly after.
On Monday morning, Routh appeared in federal court, where he was charged with possessing a firearm despite having a prior felony conviction and having a firearm with its serial number removed.
Within his sprawling book, Routh chronicles his five-month attempt to fight in Ukraine, at one point likening his mission to that of British writer George Orwell, who left for Spain to fight fascism during the country’s civil war in 1936.
“I, just like every other good human with a moral compass, knew that the right thing to do was to go to Ukraine and fight for freedom and human rights, and that is what I did,” Routh claims, adding that it took him a month to put his things in storage and obtain unspecified “military gear” for the trip.
He says he made the trip to Poland, where he hoped to enlist, but was turned away because of his age and lack of military experience.
In fact, Routh’s attempts to join the battle in Ukraine by volunteering in any capacity at the beginning of the conflict in 2022 all fail. He sets up a makeshift tent for international volunteers in Independence Square in Kyiv, only to have police officers tear it down a few weeks later.
When he goes to a different public square, he is also hounded by authorities and Ukrainians themselves.
“I had hoped that I could bend Ukraine towards democracy and freedom and human rights and be a representative of the USA,” Routh writes. “I lost the fight. It was a childish, idealistic endeavor that was unwinnable.”
Follow the latest on the foiled assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Florida:
- Trump ‘safe and well’ after being targeted by would-be assassin with AK-47 assault rifle for second time in 2 months
- Shots fired near Trump live updates: Would-be shooter was 300-500 yards away, came with scope and GoPro — ‘Intent on filming’
- Trump assures he’s ‘SAFE AND WELL’ after Secret Service fires at man armed with assault rifle at president’s golf resort
- Trump’s security at golf course was lighter because he’s not sitting prez: official
- Demands mount for Trump to get same protection as Biden — after yet another assassination plot
- Would-be Trump assassin ID’d as Ryan Routh, 58, of Hawaii: sources
He also complains throughout that he had to pay for his lodging and food, and received no help from Ukrainians, whose country he claims he was intent on saving from the Russians.
“Far more saddening than the difference in mindset is the lack of appreciation for those that pay to travel to Ukraine and risk death to fight for their freedom,” he said. “There seems to be a total disregard for the sacrifice.”
Graphic images of violence from Iran, Afghanistan and other parts of the world are also scattered throughout the book.