Another assassination attempt
Former President Donald Trump had just 65 days of relative peace and security between attempts on his life. Secret Service agents protecting the former president were more proactive on Sunday than they were in Butler, Pennsylvania , where Trump was shot.
It’s not clear whether the “shots fired” reported by agents to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office yesterday afternoon only came from Secret Service agents. But instead of dealing with a medical emergency involving the former and possibly future president, law enforcement arrested one man and didn’t have to report any loss of life.
The former president was golfing at his Trump International Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, when his game was delayed after Secret Service agents spotted a rifle barrel sticking through a fence. Agents typically stay roughly one hole ahead of Trump when he’s playing golf. When they saw the weapon, agents opened fire, sending the suspect fleeing.
Ryan Wesley Routh , a North Carolina man who recently moved to Hawaii, was arrested roughly 45 miles north of the club after the incident. A witness had taken a picture of a black Nissan driving away from the golf course after Secret Service agents opened fire. That picture was shared with law enforcement officials and helped lead to Routh’s arrest.
Agents found an abandoned “AK-47-style rifle with a scope” in the bush Routh is suspected of hiding in. They also recovered two backpacks and a GoPro camera at the scene.
While Secret Service agents were successful in preventing a scene like the one that played out at Trump’s outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in which the former president was rushed off the stage with a gunshot wound, the agency is anticipating coming under fire in the coming days.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said there was not as much security at the course as there would have been if Trump were the sitting president despite acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe telling a congressional task force investigating the Butler assassination attempt the former president and Vice President Kamala Harris would be given the same protection as President Joe Biden .
“At this level that he is at right now, he’s not the sitting president,” Bradshaw said Sunday at a press conference. “If he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded. But because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible. I would imagine that the next time he comes on the golf course, there will probably be a lot more people around the perimeter.”
Biden and Harris were both briefed on the second attempt on Trump’s life in as many months. Both leaders condemned political violence and said they were thankful Trump was unharmed.
Harris praised the Secret Service and backed Biden’s pledge to bolster the agency’s resources as Election Day draws closer.
“I commend the U.S. Secret Service and law enforcement partners for their vigilance,” Harris said . “As President Biden said, our Administration will ensure the Secret Service has every resource, capability, and protective measure necessary to carry out its critical mission.”
Trump posted a message to his followers on Truth Social on Sunday, thanking them for their “concern and well wishes,” calling the events an “interesting day.” He also thanked the Secret Service agents, Bradshaw, and “all of Law Enforcement for the incredible job done today at Trump International in keeping me, as the 45th President of the United States, and the Republican Nominee in the upcoming Presidential Election, SAFE. THE JOB DONE WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”
Out in Oakland
California voters sick and tired of elected officials failing to live up to their campaign promises are having a hard time holding them accountable.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and District Attorney Pamela Price rode into town on a wave of progressive promises to deal with the crime and homelessness that have plagued the city. The honeymoon for Thao and Price was short-lived as they failed to live up to voters’ expectations, and now, they are on the chopping block, with historic recall attempts possibly upending the city.
Thao’s relationship with voters didn’t sour as quickly as Price’s, who faced a recall attempt just three months after she was inaugurated, Senior Investigations Reporter Barnini Chakraborty wrote for us this morning.
The move to oust a mayor in Oakland is incredibly rare. It’s been more than 100 years since a recall attempt in the city made it to the November ballot, and when then-Mayor John Davis faced the wrath of voters, he survived.
Thao might not have such good luck.
“Sheng, whose home was raided by the FBI earlier this year, has been dogged by pay-to-play allegations since almost the beginning of her four-year term. She is now part of a federal investigation linked to an influential Oakland family that has donated to her campaign, as well as other elected officials,” Barnini wrote.
“Thao's problems have snowballed in the past few months. Not only was her home raided, but her lawyer cut her as a client while her former chief of staff and confidante Renia Webb spoke publicly about questionable moves the mayor has made,” she wrote.
But there is a slight problem for the city. Thao might be an imperfect leader, but there is a mountain of confusion about who will take the wheel if she is removed from office.
City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas would be the next official in line to take over for Thao in the case of her removal. But Bas is running for Alameda County supervisor and can’t take Thao’s job if she wins the seat.
The city can’t turn to President Pro Tempore Dan Kalb , either, Barnini wrote, because he gave up his seat during his unsuccessful run for the state Senate. He’s locked out of taking over a city government position unless he wins an election.
“That means when the new council takes its oath in January, it would then have to vote for a council president who, in turn, would become Oakland's interim mayor,” Barnini wrote. “A new election for mayor, according to city rules, would have to take place within four months of a November ousting.”
Thao is counting on the confusion below her to shield her from the recall attempt, but her sharpest critics don’t think her argument holds water.
"Over 40,000 Oakland voters, outraged by an unstable city created by Thao's incompetence, have placed the first recall in over a century on the ballot," Gail Harbin , one of the lead recall organizers, said in a statement. "Under Mayor Thao’s watch, crime has surged, and her incompetence has only deepened the chaos."
Click here to read more about the political chaos in Oakland.
New from us
The US needs real permitting reform
The incredible shrinking presidency: Biden out of sight and out of mind
Democratic legal games undermine self-styled defenders of democracy image
Immigration bursts into election housing price debate
Dueling abortion ballot measures at center of battle for key Nebraska district
In case you missed it
Republicans are heading toward a 2022 redux
Chuck Schumer is keeping the Senate busy — spending bill or not
It’s not a good time to be an elected official in New York City
For your radar
Biden will speak at the 2024 National HBCU Week conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 2:30 p.m.
Harris has nothing on her public schedule.
Local News
Comments / 0