US election: Why it is so difficult to protect Trump

On Monday afternoon local time, barely 24 hours after Ryan Routh allegedly attempted to assassinate Donald Trump, the 58-year-old appeared in court in West Palm Beach for a hearing. Dressed in a blue prison jumpsuit, Routh’s reporters calmly and smilingly participated in the questioning. The first charges against him: possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with a removed serial number.

It remained unclear on Monday when and in what form the federal authorities would make further allegations that Routh wanted to carry out an attack on the former president. The US federal police have been investigating the “attempted assassination” since Sunday.

What is clear, however, is that the second assassination attempt on Trump within two months once again reveals the security gaps in the protection of the former president. US President Joe Biden announced on Monday that the Secret Service would be strengthened. “One thing I want to make clear: The (Secret) Service needs more help, and I think Congress should respond to its needs,” Biden said in Washington. “I think we need more personal support.”

The Democrat hopes to counter Trump’s accusations with this appeal. “He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted accordingly,” the former president said on Monday on Fox News Digital about the suspect Routh. “Their rhetoric is leading to me being shot at, even though I am the one who is going to save the country and they are the ones destroying the country.”

Since the alleged attack attempt, Trump has made several posts on his “Truth Social” platform, to which he attached calls for donations.

Trump’s party colleagues are also making serious allegations. “We have to ask ourselves how it is possible for a murderer to get so close to President Trump.” “There is still a lack of answers about the horrific assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, and we expect clear explanations about what happened in Florida,” said Republican Representative Elise Stefanik.

Rock Scott, Republican Senator from Florida, blamed “the Democrats and the liberal media who called Trump a fascist. They compared him to Hitler. This (the alleged assassination attempt on Sunday, ed.) was not an unfortunate coincidence, but the act of a madman inspired by the radical left.”

The Republicans’ thinly veiled accusation is that Trump is not adequately protected and has therefore now been assassinated twice by assassins incited by the Democrats.

However, security experts have long warned that Trump is difficult to protect, especially at his estate in Bedminster (New Jersey) and West Palm Beach (Florida). The 78-year-old often goes golfing several times a week. He is protected by Secret Service officers. But the grounds are not hermetically sealed.

In the case of Sunday’s alleged attack, Ryan Routh was able to position himself in a bush just 400 meters from Trump. If Trump’s bodyguard had not discovered the barrel of the assault rifle, history could have taken a different course.

Trees and tall bushes that border the fairways offer potential privacy, as Sunday showed. The fact that Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach borders a busy country road makes access even easier.

Dangerous “hiding spots” on the golf course

Routh was able to escape in his car after the officer fired shots at him. Republican Rep. Mike Waltz told CNN on Monday that paparazzi had previously used the “hideout” where Routh positioned himself on Sunday to take photos of Trump.

Trump’s golf courses are not closed to other players or guests when the former president plays there. The Washington Post recently quoted a guest in Palm Beach as saying: “We were completely shocked that we could just walk up to the bar and sit right next to him. There were no metal detectors, we weren’t checked. We had just finished a round of golf and went into the clubhouse and just walked through. We sat down at a table very close to him for lunch. We could have just walked up to his table.”

US media reports that Trump also spontaneously chats with visitors to his Mar-a-Lago club who are invited there for weddings or other celebrations. Parts of Trump’s private property are rented out commercially. Security at Trump’s properties in Florida and New Jersey was increased again on Monday.