Ohio Senator JD Vance has disclosed the details of a phone conversation he had with former President Donald Trump following a second assassination attempt on Trump within a span of two months. Speaking at a Faith and Freedom Coalition event in Georgia, Vance recounted Trump’s shockingly casual tone when he shared the news.
According to Vance, Trump called him just ten minutes after the incident occurred on Sunday, September 15, when the Secret Service apprehended the would-be assassin. “He [Trump] says, ‘JD, you’re not going to believe this, but they tried to do it again,’” Vance reported. “I said, ‘No, you’re joshing me. But, what’s going on here, sir?’”
Trump revealed that the gunman, identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh from North Carolina, attempted the attack with an AK-47 equipped with a scope while Trump was on a golf course. “I was playing golf and the Secret Service found somebody who was trying to shoot me,” Vance relayed Trump’s account.
Vance expressed his relief at Trump’s safety, saying, “I said, ‘Oh my Lord sir, I’m so glad you’re okay.’” In his remarks, Vance contrasted the situation with the lack of threats against Democratic figures, suggesting a heightened level of aggression aimed at Trump.
“The big difference between conservatives and liberals is that … no one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months, and two people now have tried to kill Donald Trump in the last couple of months,” Vance argued. “I’d say that’s pretty strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric and needs to cut this crap out.”
Trump himself has pointed fingers at the Democrats, blaming their rhetoric for inciting violence against him. In a statement to the media, Trump accused Democrats of contributing to a hostile environment that has led to repeated attempts on his life. “Their [Democrats] rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out,” Trump declared, referring to his attackers as “the enemy from within.”
In addition to these claims, Trump’s assailant, Ryan Wesley Routh, had a notable social media presence that indicated his political leanings and donations to Democratic candidates since 2019. Routh also reportedly traveled to Ukraine to support the war effort and sought to recruit Afghan soldiers, according to an interview with The New York Times.
The incident has reignited discussions about political rhetoric and its potential consequences, with both Trump and Vance calling for a reduction in inflammatory language.
