The alleged would-be assassin of President Trump, Ryan Routh, will have his political history extensively studied in the coming days and weeks, as law enforcement attempts to determine a motivation for his apparent plan to take Trump’s life. What has been uncovered so far about Routh shows that he was no left-wing ideologue. 

Routh, a Hawaii resident, was a Trump fan just eight years ago, supporting him, donating to him, and voting for him in the 2016 election, according to his own social media posts. By 2020, he had switched allegiances to President Biden, though by January, 2024, Routh had taken to the social media platform X to implore Governor Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy to run together as the Republican ticket. 

“We must do this now to create a winning ticket now that we all can get behind. Please do not be selfish and arrogant,” Routh wrote on X on January 8, tagging Mrs. Haley in the post. “Partner now to change the course of this election. Break norms and give us an option.”

In 2019, Routh donated exclusively to Democrats during the course of the presidential primary. He gave money to Senator Warren, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, Congressman Beto O’Rourke, and businessmen Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang.

Despite his willingness to support Trump in the past, Routh made a hard turn against the former president after the 2020 election, going so far as to say that Iran was “free” to kill Trump. That assertion was made in a self-published book in 2023. 

Routh’s son, Oran Routh, told the Daily Mail on Sunday that his father, like “all reasonable people,” despises Trump. Mr. Routh said it was not like his father to take such drastic action. 

Much of his activism in recent years has been directed at supporting Ukraine following Russia’s 2022 invasion. A resurfaced clip from shortly after the invasion shows actor Jamie Rejent interviewing Routh at a train station in Poland, just near the Ukraine border. 

“I’m someone who’s disappointed in the international, civilian response to this crisis, and anticipated that thousands of civilians from every country around the world would flock here for the Ukrainian civilians,” Routh said.

The future attempted assassin said he hoped to join the Ukrainian international legion — a fighting force made up of volunteers from around the world who traveled to Ukraine to help defend the country. Short of that, he said he would set up a tent in the middle of Kyiv and take a stand against the Russians if it got to that.

A spokesman for the legion, however, tells the Sun that Routh had nothing to do with the group. “We would like to clarify that Ryan Wesley Routh has never been part of, associated with, or linked to the International Legion in any capacity,” the spokesman said. “Any claims or suggestions indicating otherwise are entirely inaccurate.”

In a 2023 interview with Semafor, Routh said that he was frustrated with the Ukrainian government’s inability to recruit foreign soldiers to help defend their own country. “Ukraine is very often hard to work with. Many foreign soldiers leave after a week in Ukraine or must move from unit to unit to find a place they are respected and appreciated,” Routh said more than one year after the invasion. He had been “yelled at” for saying they try to recruit special operators from Afghanistan. “They’re afraid that anybody and everybody is a Russian spy.”

Routh has a long criminal history dating back to his time living in North Carolina decades ago. According to records obtained by the Greensboro News and Record, Routh was charged with more than a dozen misdemeanor offenses ranging from driving with a suspended license to hit and run. He was also charged with possessing a “weapon of mass destruction” — a fully automatic rifle in his case — which is a felony. 

Routh’s alleged attempt on Trump’s life marks the second time in three months that a gunman has tried to assassinate America’s 45th president. The first instance in Pennsylvania, perpetrated by Thomas Matthew Crooks, has so far yielded little information about the shooter’s motivations. Crooks was killed on the scene shortly after he began firing at Trump. 

Routh was taken alive by law enforcement after he fled the scene of Trump’s golf course on Sunday, where a Secret Service agent had seen him hiding in bushes just off the course and fired at him. Routh was carrying a high-powered rifle before he got into a black Nissan and drove away from the course.

According to the Miami Herald, Routh will be arraigned at a Florida court on Monday.