Written by Luke Mills-Hicks.

In the late afternoon of September 15th gunshots were heard on the Trump International Golf Course, while former president Trump was playing a round of golf. Following the incident an announcement was made by Steven Cheung, communications director of the Trump Vance campaign, stating “President Trump is safe, no further details at this time”. Shortly after, the Secret Service confirmed that they were investigating an incident that involved Trump.

Now, we know that the suspect has been detained and is in custody. It was revealed that the suspect, 58 year old former construction worker, Ryan Routh, had set up in a bush on the perimeter of the Trump golf course, armed with an SKS sniper rifle. Mr Routh was spotted and shot at by Trump’s security detail. He fled the scene, and was arrested over 50 miles from the Trump golf course. Routh has a history of mental instability, and developed “an unhealthy interest in Ukraine”, according to Chris Lutz, an aid worker who had worked alongside him. Routh had claimed that he would be able to bring thousands of Afghan fighters into Ukraine to help in the war effort against Russia. Unsurprisingly, Routh’s ideas were rejected due to concerns about feasibility and infiltration.

So, how does this development affect Trump’s campaign for the presidency? Trump came out on X, proclaiming “I will NEVER SURRENDER”. He went on to say that he had to tell his grandchildren about “radical leftists trying to kill their grandfather… No person should have to do this in America”. Much the same as before, it should be expected that this attempt on Trump’s life will boost his popularity. Although this is a constantly evolving story, one thing is certain. This assassination attempt will fuel the divide between Republicans and Democrats. Both President Biden, and Vice-President Harris made formal statements, with the former stating that “There is no place for political violence in America, or for any violence.”

The investigation has been under intense scrutiny by the Republican Party, who want the state of Florida to take over the investigation, rather than federal officers. The Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, stated that, “it’s not in the best interest of our state or our nation to have the same federal agencies that are seeking to prosecute Donald Trump leading this investigation.” Under federal law, Mr Routh faces two charges: illegal possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm with a removed serial number; these charges combined could land him with a sentence of up to 20 years. If Florida is able to take the case, then Routh could also be charged with attempted murder and would likely spend the rest of his life in prison. Routh’s detention hearing is currently scheduled for the 23rd of September, and there is still very little information on what the outcome of his trial will be.