Ed published the breaking news about this incident yesterday, but we initially didn't have a lot to go on. The attempted assassination of Donald Trump by Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii is being billed as the second such attempt on Trump's life this summer. At first glance, that certainly seems like an accurate portrayal. But the deeper we delve into the details, the less clear the picture becomes. While Routh's intentions may appear clear, there is a significant difference between intentions and actions. Also, in terms of potential motives and rationale, Routh appears to be disturbed in some fashion, but he also appears to be rather confused. While more details no doubt need to be explored, this thwarted attack plan is coming into focus and it paints a rather curious but largely unimpressive picture of the would-be assassin. For one thing, Routh clearly didn't seem to be a fan of Donald Trump, but he was also critical of Joe Biden and many other political figures as well as policies being followed by Washington. (NY Post)

Routh is the owner of Camp Box Honolulu, a shed building company with few positive reviews. While Routh hadn’t posted on his X account in a year, he frequently criticized politicians including Trump, current President Joe Biden, and celebrities like Bruno Mars...

Routh was a supporter of Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley, according to one of his posts in which he encouraged the Republican presidential candidates to continue their races. “You cannot quit. Why. You must stay on the ballot to the end. You must fight. You must continue giving speeches and push all the way to election day no matter the election results. Do not give in. Join Nikki and keep working. Never give up,” he wrote.

Routh is also a staunch supporter of Ukraine and Taiwan in their respective conflicts against Russia and China. He claims on X that he tried to “sell” the idea of having former Afghanistan troopers fight for Ukraine in Russia, but was denied multiple times before giving up after six months.

Routh's social media background is more of a disjointed mess than anything else. It does appear clear that he supports Democrats more than Republicans while criticizing both parties over various things. Most outlets further note that Rough donated "exclusively to Democrats," but that only added up to roughly $140 over several years. Analysts have been quick to point out that Rough has "an extensive criminal history." But when you're forced to kick off your list of his supposed crime sprees by noting "multiple traffic citations," we're probably not talking about the next Ted Bundy.

In addition to complaining about Trump and Biden, Routh also expressed anger at... The Federal Reserve? Granted, I have regularly complained about how the Fed is handling the inflation situation at present, but I've never considered going out and shooting somebody because of it. Even more strangely, Routh went on social media and asked Elon Musk to sell him "a rocket" so he could blow up Vladimir Putin's mansion on the Black Sea. Fortunately for Putin, Musk didn't appear to be interested in closing the deal.

We should also revisit the question of precisely what Routh did at the golf course and what he might be charged with. Was it an assassination attempt on Trump's life? At first glance, it certainly looks that way. But Routh was spotted outside the fence surrounding the golf course. He clearly had a rifle and was seen pointing the barrel through the fence. The range was 400 to 500 yards to the target (presumably Trump) so the shot wouldn't have been impossible for a skilled marksman, though nowhere near as easy as Thomas Crooks' attempt. But Routh never fired. In fact he was fired on by the Secret Service, but even they missed. Florida has some fairly lax laws regarding carrying and handling a firearm, but you can be charged with aggravated assault if you point a rifle at someone unprovoked. 

The point is, that the government can almost always find some statute to charge you under if they really want to, so that will probably happen in this case. But there remains a wide gap between "looking like you're going to try to kill the President" and actually pulling the trigger and literally taking a shot at the deed. Routh's other bizarre comments and actions might even set him up with some sort of insanity plea deal. Perhaps we will learn more in the days and weeks to come, but this particular attack scheme is looking more like an aberration that was cooked up by a rather odd duck and not some criminal mastermind who came close to taking out Donald Trump. For that, we can all be at least a bit grateful.