Not even 2 months after former President Donald Trump was shot at an open-air campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13th, another assassination attempt on the presidential candidate was reported to have occurred on September 15th. This newest incident occurred in West Palm Beach Florida at the Trump International Golf Club, where Trump played golf with friends. The attempt happened less than a week after the Republican candidate’s debate with Democratic opponent Vice President Kamala Harris, adding one more unusual event to the sequence of turmoil that has taken place in the lead-up to the election in November.

The 58 year old suspect in the shooting, Ryan Wesley Routh, was caught by Secret Service agents while hiding on the golf course in wait for Trump. Reportedly, Routh had been camped out in the area, only 400 yards from the former president, for over 12 hours with a gun and food before he was discovered. Secret Service agents reportedly noticed the muzzle of Routh’s rifle poking through shrubbery on the course and opened fire in its direction, causing Routh to flee the scene. Authorities found a scoped rifle at Routh’s hideout on the course and later caught up to him in a nearby county, arresting him. Routh has faced prior felony and misdemeanor convictions including a hit and run and carrying a concealed weapon, adding possession of a firearm with a felony conviction to the list of possible charges against him.

While Routh’s attempt was prevented before anyone was harmed, unlike the attempt at the rally near Butler, the event has already added fuel to the flames of the pre-election discourse, with Trump taking to Fox News digital to position President Biden and Vice President Harris’ claims that Trump is a “threat to democracy” as responsible for the attempt, claiming that “their rhetoric is causing me to get shot at… they are the ones destroying the issue, both from the inside and out”. Trump’s VP nominee J.D. Vance joined in soon after, asserting that “two people now have tried to kill Donald Trump in the last couple of months… I’d say that’s pretty strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric.” Trump also used the event to rally campaign support, sending out a message to supporters saying that “Nothing will slow me down. I will never surrender!” 

President Biden and Vice President Harris’ statements on the situation have been staunchly condemnatory of the attempt, with Biden stating that he is “relieved the former president is unharmed” and that he has told his team to see to it that the Secret Service had “every resource, capability, and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety.” Harris commented further on the incident, saying that she is “deeply disturbed” and stating “I will be clear: I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence.” Still, despite the condemnation of the current President and the Democratic Candidate, it seems as though this second attempt on Trump’s life will only work to widen partisan divisions ahead of the November election.