The man suspected of an assassination attempt on former President Trump’s life on Sunday went on the record with the New York Times last year to promote his efforts to recruit Afghan soldiers to fight the war in Ukraine. 

More than a year ago, Ryan Routh spoke to the New York Times after spending “months” in Ukraine during its war against Russia. Routh, whom the New York Times described as a former North Carolina construction worker, told the outlet that as the number of foreign volunteers fighting on behalf of Ukraine in a military unit called the International Legion dwindled, he was working to recruit Afghan soldiers who fled the Taliban to join the front lines of the war in Ukraine. 

“Mr. Routh, who spent several months in Ukraine last year, said he planned to move them, in some cases illegally, from Pakistan and Iran to Ukraine. He said dozens had expressed interest,” the New York Times reported in an article published on March 25, 2023. 

“We can probably purchase some passports through Pakistan, since it’s such a corrupt country,” Routh told the outlet in an interview from Washington, D.C. 

RYAN ROUTH, ARMED MAN ARRESTED AT TRUMP GOLF COURSE, POSTED PROLIFICALLY ABOUT TRUMP, POLITICS

Routh was arrested Sunday afternoon after allegedly taking an AK-47-style rifle to the Trump International Golf Club, and pointing it through a chain-link fence toward where Trump was playing golf. 

Routh fled the area in his car and was soon apprehended by authorities on I-95. Trump was not injured during the incident, and the campaign quickly issued a statement that he was safe on Sunday afternoon. 

Fox News Digital pored over Routh’s apparent social media accounts on Sunday and found he prolifically posted about world events, Trump, the 2020 election, and the previous attempt on Trump’s life in July. 

ALLEGED TRUMP GUNMAN RYAN ROUTH HAS A PAPER TRAIL OF PRO-UKRAINE ADVOCACY: REPORTS

“I am flying to Ukraine to fight.  We need to launch a media campaign to encourage every human around the globe to meet in Ukraine and join in the fight.  We need hundreds of thousands of civilians to make the cost of war high for putin and a flood of fighters,” he posted on Feb. 17, 2022. 

Following repeated messages declaring his intention to fight on behalf of Ukraine, he posted in April that he was in Kyiv. 

“I am here in kyiv and want to use Independence Park to create a tent city of all the foreigners here in support to get thousands more foreign civilians to come and support Ukraine,” the account posted. 

LAW ENFORCEMENT SOURCES IDENTIFY RYAN WESLEY ROUTH AS SUSPECT IN TRUMP SHOOTING

In another post, he declared in all caps that he was willing to “FIGHT AND DIE” in Ukraine. 

“I AM WILLING TO FLY TO KRAKOW AND GO TO THE BORDER OF UKRAINE TO VOLUNTEER AND FIGHT AND DIE,” he posted in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. 

His X account was suspended following police confirming his name on Sunday. 

The New York Times reporter who interviewed Routh last year about his efforts in Ukraine published an essay Sunday regarding the interview and article. The reporter, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, explained that he was put in touch with Routh by a former colleague from Kabul, and noted that Routh was one of the first interviews he conducted for the March 2023 piece. 

DONALD TRUMP SAFE AFTER SHOTS FIRED OUTSIDE PALM BEACH GOLF CLUB

“Mr. Routh, who had spent some time in Ukraine trying to raise support for the war, was seeking recruits from among Afghan soldiers who fled the Taliban. And so the former Afghan soldier reckoned Mr. Routh could get him to the Ukrainian front. (Anything, even war, was better than the conditions in Iran for Afghans after the Taliban retook Kabul in August of 2021.),” the essay explained. 

Routh told the reporter that while he was eager to rally support and volunteers to fight on behalf of Ukraine, he did not fight in Ukraine citing his age and his lack of military experience. Routh is 58 years old as of 2024. 

“In my opinion everyone should be there supporting the Ukrainians,” he told the reporter. 

Routh told the New York Times last March that he had built a list hundreds of names long of Afghans living in the Middle East whom he planned to recruit and help transport to Ukraine. 

The interview was “brief” and conducted ahead of Routh saying he had lined up a two-hour meeting with members of Congress regarding Ukraine. 

TRUMP SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

The reporter noted in his essay it’s unclear if Routh ever had the meeting, and that the discussion left him thinking Routh “was in way over his head.”

“He talked of buying off corrupt officials, forging passports and doing whatever it took to get his Afghan cadre to Ukraine, but he had no real way to accomplish his goals. At one point he mentioned arranging a U.S. military transport flight from Iraq to Poland with Afghan refugees willing to fight,” Gibbons-Neff wrote. 

“I shook my head. It sounded ridiculous, but the tone in Mr. Routh’s voice said otherwise. He was going to back Ukraine’s war effort, no matter what.”

The reporter said that Routh “fell off the map” following the publication last year, “until Sunday.” 

Routh headed to federal court Monday morning, where he was seen smiling and laughing before his first court appearance. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He faces charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Authorities said he could be hit with additional charges. 

Trump has since blamed Democratic rhetoric promoted by President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the attempt on his life. Trump survived another assassination attempt in July, when a gunman opened fire on a campaign rally in Pennsylvania and hit Trump in the ear. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is planning another vote on a Democrat-backed bill on in vitro fertilization (IVF) that has already failed in the upper chamber. 

He revealed in a letter to senators on Sunday that another vote on the measure would take place on Tuesday. 

“As our national debate on reproductive rights has continued to unfold, we have seen the Republican Party’s nominee for president claim to be ‘a leader in fertilization’ and come out in support of expanding access to IVF by requiring insurance companies to cover IVF treatment — a key provision included in the Right to IVF Act,” Schumer penned in his letter. 

“So, we are going to give our Republican colleagues another chance to show the American people where they stand.”

DEMS POUR $25M INTO GROUND GAME AS GOP INCHES CLOSER TO SENATE MAJORITY

Schumer’s decision to bring the bill back to the Senate floor comes after former President Donald Trump vowed to mandate insurers to cover IVF, as he emphasized his support of the procedure. 

“I’m announcing today in a major statement that under the Trump administration, your government will pay for — or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for — all costs associated with IVF treatment,” Trump said at a Michigan event last month. “Because we want more babies, to put it nicely.”

TAMMY BALDWIN FACES CONFLICT OF INTEREST CONCERNS OVER PARTNER’S WALL STREET GIG

Under the IVF bill, which was introduced by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., “A group health plan or a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall provide coverage for fertility treatment, if such plan or coverage provides coverage for obstetrical services.”

This would extend to nearly all insurers, as obstetrical coverage is considered a routine inclusion. 

In June, nearly all Senate Republicans voted the measure down during a key procedural vote, preventing it from getting the 60 necessary votes to advance. 

JON TESTER CASTS DOUBT ON UNFAVORABLE POLL IN MONTANA SENATE RACE: ‘GIVE ME A BREAK’

Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Katie Britt of Alabama proposed their own IVF bill later in the summer, which they said would prevent bans on the procedure but allow for commonsense regulation. That measure was blocked from being voted on when Cruz made a unanimous consent request to proceed with it. It has not been slated for a traditional vote by Schumer, either. 

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., also led a bill designed to promote IVF earlier this summer, which was bicameral and introduced in the House by Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla. His measure sought to decouple Health Savings Accounts (HSA) from health insurance plans and raise the contribution limits for families to assist in paying for expenses such as IVF. 

Scott said he wouldn’t speak about private conversations with Trump when asked by Fox News Digital if they had discussed the former president’s IVF proposal, but he reiterated, “I’m very supportive of IVF, and we’ll see what Schumer brings up.”

Pressed on the component to mandate insurers to cover the procedure, he said he would see what’s written in the bill. 

TOP SENATORS BRIEFED ON ‘MAJOR ERRORS’ LEADING UP TO TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., who is running for Republican Senate leader in November, said he hadn’t discussed the IVF proposal with Trump but perhaps some of his colleagues had. 

“Obviously, it’s an idea that’s out there that we’re having discussions about. But, we’ll react to it if and when it happens, if that’s the direction Schumer decides to go,” he told Fox News Digital. 

Asked about mandating private insurance coverage for a procedure, which isn’t a traditionally conservative position, Thune said, “I guess that’s the conversation we’re going to have to have.”

“Obviously, it’s something that our nominee has come out in support of, but there are lots of mandates that are imposed on insurance companies, which raise rates,” he explained. 

“Every Republican is for IVF. I don’t know of any Republican that isn’t,” he said. “The question of whether or not insurance ought to cover it is another issue that we need to talk about.”

EXCLUSIVE: At a scheduled House hearing on Wednesday, Republicans plan to grill Small Business Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman over what they have characterized as the agency’s behavior in regard to claims of taxpayer-funded electioneering in swing-state Michigan.

Texas Rep. Roger Williams, chair of the House Small Business Committee, said Monday that Guzman will be asked directly about alleged agency efforts to register voters in Democrat-heavy precincts of the Wolverine State.

“The Small Business Administration has lacked transparency and stonewalled committee oversight at every turn,” Williams said.

“The administrator must answer directly to our members about what we are hearing from our constituents back home, particularly about why small business concerns are being ignored within the Biden-Harris administration…”

WATCHDOG GROUP SUES FEDS FOR RECORDS AS LAWMAKER CALLS VOTER REGISTRATION EFFORTS A ‘SLAP IN THE FACE’

Williams and his Senate counterpart, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, began demanding documents and other information in May over what the SBA had called its “first-ever” voter registration agreement with Michigan officials.

The SBA in March had forged an MOU or “Memorandum of Understanding” with the Michigan Department of State, pursuant to President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14019 – promoting access to voting.

Since then, Williams and committee Republicans have been demanding information including documents and travel schedules of top agency officials. The letter from the two lawmakers also cited Guzman as the “most-traveled” cabinet member.

To date, the committee has said SBA’s compliance has been markedly insufficient, with lawmakers claiming the agency has “slow-rolled… and wasted time producing documents that were either nonresponsive to the Committee’s requests or duplicative.”

The agency is “diverting its resources away from assisting Main Street so it can register Democratic voters,” Williams said.

In August, an SBA spokesperson argued that the agency has provided “extensive testimony, briefings, transcribed interviews, documents and other information in response to congressional inquires, including the Committee’s most recent subpoena.”

HOUSE COMMITTEE DEMANDS BIDEN AGENCY REVEAL STAFF TRAVEL HISTORIES AMID ELECTIONEERING ALLEGATIONS

“We are continuing the work to fulfill the subpoena beyond our initial document production. Any suggestion that the agency is conducting improper work or that its response has been anything other than cooperative is simply not true,” the spokesperson added.

Democrats on the panel, meanwhile, have dismissed the majority’s demands and claimed their behavior tarnishes the panel’s record:

The House Small Business Committee has otherwise “prided itself in bipartisan cooperation to help American entrepreneurs,” ranking member Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., told Fox News Digital in June. 

“Unfortunately, with [these] subpoenas, Republicans have rejected these principles to pursue a partisan inquiry,” Velazquez said.

However, others have countered that Democrats are politicizing the committee, as a source with knowledge of the committee’s work pointed to at least five derogatory mentions of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 in the committee’s last session.

Velazquez and Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., had invoked the conservative advocacy group’s work to rebut Republican amendments aimed at reducing regulatory burdens on small business. 

KEY BIDEN AGENCY SLAPPED WITH HISTORIC SUBPOENAS OVER ‘IMPROPER’ SWING-STATE VOTER REGISTRATION PUSH

Democrats have sought to link Republican officeholders and former President Donald Trump to Project 2025 as a form of criticism. While several of Trump’s former Cabinet secretaries and top White House senior aides are authors of the project, Trump has denied having any connection to it.

Williams said that, instead of voter registration in Michigan or other related concerns, the SBA should be focused on its founding mission.

“The American taxpayers deserve to know the truth about who the SBA is truly working for, because the last few years have been a disaster for Main Street America,” he said Monday.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital has also learned the committee will question Guzman on the agency’s reported decision to end active collection on COVID-era small business loans under $100,000, while the agency saw billions of loan dollars accidentally go to fraudulent concerns.

The committee also plans to address Vice President Kamala Harris’ small business tax deduction proposals, and how witnesses may believe it meshes with potential plans to allow a current 20% small business tax deduction to expire.

The race for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District is generating national attention as Republicans attempt to tie their Democratic opponent to a controversial deal with a Chinese Communist Party-backed company.

Michigan Republicans are calling on former Democratic State Sen. Curtis Hertel, who is currently running to represent Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, to break his silence on a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) he signed in order to obtain details on controversial plans to use taxpayer funds to help build an electric vehicle battery plant in west Michigan owned by a company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

The plant, which was announced by Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in October 2022, was set to get millions in incentives as part of a deal with Michigan lawmakers and Green Charter Township, with promises of bringing over 2,000 jobs to the area.

But the project quickly drew the ire of local voters, in large part due to the company behind the plant, Gotion Inc., being a subsidiary of Gotion High-Tech, which has strong ties to the Chinese Communist Party. 

CCP-BACKED TECH COMPANIES ARE POISED TO CASH IN ON BIDEN’S CLIMATE BILL, NATIONAL SECURITY EXPERTS WARN

Last fall, local voters ousted five of the seven township board members over their support of the project, while the other two members resigned.

That controversy has now bled over into the race for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, one of the few true toss-up House races in the state, thanks to Hertel being one of several lawmakers from both parties to sign the NDA with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation that allowed them to learn about and negotiate details on the proposed plans for the plant.

Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who is vacating her seat in Michigan’s 7th District to pursue a run for U.S. Senate, recently spoke out against the Gotion deal, further intensifying calls on Hertel to do the same.

“To me, until there’s a national security vetting, I don’t love the idea of moving forward on any project or any sale of farmland” to a Chinese entity, Slotkin told reporters at a campaign event earlier this month. “I believe that we need to not just think about economic [aspects], but also about the national security implications of Chinese-affiliated companies.”

BIDEN ADMIN GREEN-LIGHTS CHINESE EV BATTERY FACTORY IN MICHIGAN, DESPITE LOCAL OPPOSITION

“Hertel must answer whether or not he agrees with his comrade pal Elissa Slotkin, and if he regrets signing the NDA to sell out Michigan taxpayers to the CCP,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Mike Marinella.

The controversy over the plant has also garnered attention in the presidential race, with former President Donald Trump saying on Truth social last month that he is “100% OPPOSED” to the plant, adding that Gotion “would put Michiganders under the thumb of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing.”

Meanwhile, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, highlighted the controversy during a campaign stop in Michigan last week.

“I think the most important thing is we have to stop paying Chinese manufacturers to manufacture, whether it’s here or overseas,” Vance told reporters in Michigan after his speech. “We want to build an American manufacturing industry and an American middle class. If we want to pursue these policies, let’s do them for Americans and American businesses.”

FEWER AMERICANS WANT TO BUY AN EV — EVEN AS BIDEN PUSHES FOR STRONGEST-EVER CLIMATE CHANGE RULES

But questions over Hertel’s involvement in the project continue to be the focus of Michigan Republicans, most notably after it was reported last year that Hertel was on of several Democratic lawmakers in the state to receive funds from a Political Action Committee (PAC) linked to the law office of Warner Norcross + Judd, a firm acting as a foreign agent to represent Gotion.

According to a Fox News report last September, the firm’s PAC donated $2,400 to the state campaign for Hertel, who represented Michigan’s 23rd State Senate district from 2015 until January.

One lawmaker who did not sign an NDA related to the project is former Republican State Sen. Tom Barrett, Hertel’s opponent in the race for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. Barrett has also seized on the controversy, arguing Hertel owes people an explanation for his involvement with the project.

“Curtis Hertel, a 22-year career politician, owes the people of Mid-Michigan an explanation as to why he signed a secret NDA to give $175 million of their tax dollars to a CCP-backed company,” Barrett told Fox News Digital. “The fact that he took money from foreign agents on behalf of Gotion should disqualify him from Congress.”

Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, Hertel campaign communications director Sam Kwait-Spitzer dismissed the claims by Republicans as a “false attack.”

“Curtis signed no NDA with Gotion, and Tom Barrett is trying to cover for his own record of voting against 5,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs here in Mid-Michigan and trying to cede the future of the auto industry to China,” he said.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

The alleged gunman arrested at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, has a lengthy paper trail of pro-Ukraine advocacy, according to several news reports Monday.

The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested Sunday after allegedly pushing the muzzle of an assault rifle through a chain-link fence near former President Donald Trump’s golf course, where the former president was playing the fifth hole. However, this is not the first time Routh has been identified.

Routh is a pro-Ukraine activist who has spent time in the Eastern European country volunteering to raise more support for the nation’s military efforts and even sought Afghan veterans who fled from the Taliban to fight in the war, a New York Times report noted.

LAW ENFORCEMENT SOURCES IDENTIFY RYAN WESLEY ROUTH AS SUSPECT IN TRUMP SHOOTING

He was also interviewed by Semafor in March 2023 and expressed frustration at the Ukranian government for having too much red tape around admitting foreign soldiers to fight in the war. 

“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 told Semafor, adding that he’d been “yelled at” for suggesting Afghan veterans. 

“They’re afraid that anybody and everybody is a Russian spy,” he said.

Routh also talked to Newsweek’s Romania edition in 2022, again about his recruitment efforts for the International Legion Defense of Ukraine, which is an on-the-ground unit for the nation’s army.

DONALD TRUMP SAFE AFTER SHOTS FIRED OUTSIDE PALM BEACH GOLF CLUB

“The question as far as why I’m here … to me, a lot of the other conflicts are grey, but this conflict is definitely black and white,” Routh told Newseek. “This is about good versus evil. This is a storybook, you know, any movie we’ve ever watched, this is definitely evil against good.“

Routh also claimed to have fought in the war and reportedly bragged about his involvement on his social media accounts. His pro-Ukraine advocacy also appears to have led him to write a 291-page book, “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War,” which is still available on Amazon. 

“I presume that I must be clear, that while on the current path Ukraine will not win, it is imperative for the world that they do win, and that is why this book is so important, for us all to recognize that losing is not an option and what we must do to win,” Routh wrote in the description. “I obviously did not write this to make any money, as that is totally unimportant; the extremely important issue is that we openly discuss daily the major issues that face Ukraine and what we each must try to do to fix them.”

The X account appearing to belong to Routh also repeatedly issued Ukraine-related posts to X that he was ready to fly to Ukraine to fight Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I am flying to Ukraine to fight.  We need to launch a media campaign to encourage every human around the globe to meet in Ukraine and join in the fight.  We need hundreds of thousands of civilians to make the cost of war high for putin and a flood of fighters,” the apparent Routh account posted on Feb. 17, 2022. 

Following repeated messages declaring his intention to fight on behalf of Ukraine, the X account posted in April that Routh was in Kyiv. 

“I am here in kyiv and want to use Independence Park to create a tent city of all the foreigners here in support to get thousands more foreign civilians to come and support Ukraine,” according to the X post. 

Trump has said on several occasions that if elected, he would end the Ukraine-Russia conflict within 24 hours. During the ABC debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump did not explicitly say he wanted Ukraine to triumph in the war.  “Just get it done. All right. Negotiate a deal,” Trump said.

TRUMP SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

A background check also previously reviewed by Fox News Digital found that Routh has had repeated run-ins with law enforcement spanning decades in North Carolina. 

A majority of the arrests included ones for simple possession, driving without a license, driving with an expired registration, driving without insurance. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Brooke Curto contributed to this report. 

As headlines spread like wildfire that former President Donald Trump was likely targeted in a second assassination attempt, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries posted a message to X demanding supporters “stop” the “extreme MAGA Republicans.”

“Extreme MAGA Republicans are the party of a national abortion ban and Trump’s Project 2025,” Jeffries posted to X at 3:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

“We must stop them.”

The statement was posted well after news broke that Trump was safe following what authorities described as a likely assassination attempt on his life. 

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SUSPECT LAUGHS, SMILES DURING FIRST COURT APPEARANCE IN FLORIDA

Authorities in West Palm Beach, Florida, received calls of shots fired at Trump International Golf Club at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday, with the Trump campaign issuing a statement after 2 p.m. that the 45th president was “safe following gunshots in his vicinity.”

About two hours after Jeffries posted about stopping “extreme MAGA Republicans,” he condemned the attack against Trump, posting at 5:33 p.m., “Political violence has no place in a democratic society.”

Trump spoke to Fox Digital on Monday morning and blamed rhetoric from Democrats, namely President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, for the attack on his life. 

“[The suspect] believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,” Trump said in the interview. “Their 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.” 

“It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat,” Trump added. 

WITNESS SAW TRUMP ASSASSINATION SUSPECT FLEE BUSHES, TOOK PHOTO OF GETAWAY CAR

Trump went on to say that his ABC News debate last week was “so biased and so out of control,” citing Harris’ comments claiming Trump supports Project 2025 and a national abortion ban. Jeffries also cited Project 2025 and the alleged plans for a national abortion ban in his X post Sunday. 

“Harris was the one lying about Project 2025, she lied about abortion, she lied about everything,” Trump said. “She was correcting me.” 

Project 2025 was authored by conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, with Trump repeatedly saying on the campaign trail that he had no role in crafting what was billed as a blueprint for a future Republican administration. Trump has also repeatedly said that he would not impose a national abortion ban if re-elected, doubling down that abortion issues should be left to individual states. 

Authorities confirmed that the suspect arrested Sunday at the golf club is 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, a Hawaiian resident who has posted prolifically on social media about Trump and politics, Fox Digital found. 

Routh currently resides in Hawaii after spending the majority of his life in North Carolina, where he worked in construction, including owning a company called United Roofing, a background check conducted by Fox Digital shows. 

The suspect’s alleged social media accounts on Sunday afternoon showed he repeatedly posted about Trump, the war in Ukraine, the 2020 election and other world events. 

TRUMP BLAMES BIDEN-HARRIS ‘RHETORIC’ FOR LATEST ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, SAYS HE WILL ‘SAVE THE COUNTRY’

The account also weighed in on Trump’s assassination attempt in July, calling on Vice President Kamala Harris to visit those injured at the Pennsylvania Trump rally, because “Trump will never do anything for them.” 

“You and Biden should visit the injured people in the hospital from the Trump rally and attend the funeral of the murdered fireman. Trump will never do anything for them….show the world what compassion and humanity is all about,” he said in a reply message to Harris’ account on July 17. 

In another X post published on April 22, Routh appeared to quote a commonly used phrase by the Harris campaign, declaring, “DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose.”

“Your campaign should be called something like KADAF. Keep America democratic and free. Trumps should be MASA …make Americans slaves again master. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose. We cannot afford to fail. The world is counting on us to show the way,” the account posted ahead of Biden dropping out of the race in July and Harris ascending to the top of the Democratic ticket. 

During Trump’s interview with Fox Digital, he cited rhetoric from Democrats describing him as a “threat to democracy” as a likely motivation for the attacks against him in recent weeks. He argued that while Democrats such as Biden and Harris call him a “threat to democracy,” they described themselves as “unity” leaders. 

RYAN ROUTH, ARMED MAN ARRESTED AT TRUMP GOLF COURSE, POSTED PROLIFICALLY ABOUT TRUMP, POLITICS

“They are the opposite,” Trump said. “These are people that want to destroy our country.” 

The X account appearing to belong to Routh also repeatedly issued messages related to the war in Ukraine, posting to X that he was ready to fly to Ukraine to fight Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

“I am flying to Ukraine to fight.  We need to launch a media campaign to encourage every human around the globe to meet in Ukraine and join in the fight.  We need hundreds of thousands of civilians to make the cost of war high for putin and a flood of fighters,” he posted on Feb. 17, 2022. 

Following repeated messages declaring his intention to fight on behalf of Ukraine, he posted in April that he was in Kyiv. 

“I am here in kyiv and want to use Independence Park to create a tent city of all the foreigners here in support to get thousands more foreign civilians to come and support Ukraine,” the account posted. 

Routh also has a lengthy rap sheet stretching out decades, most notably in North Carolina, where he racked up dozens of arrests for car infractions, such as driving without insurance, driving without a license and driving with an expired registration. 

DONALD TRUMP SAFE AFTER SHOTS FIRED OUTSIDE PALM BEACH GOLF CLUB

In 2002, Routh made local headlines when he was arrested at his roofing company’s office following a three-hour standoff with police, the Greensboro News & Record reported at the time. Routh had been pulled over by police during a traffic stop and put his hand on a gun during the stop, sparking him to drive to United Roofing and barricade himself in the building. He was ultimately arrested without incident. 

Fast-forward to Sunday afternoon, Routh was arrested after allegedly pointing a rifle through a chain-link fence, aiming it toward where Trump was playing golf, authorities said. 

Routh fled the scene in his car but was arrested on I-95. 

He appeared in federal court Monday morning wearing shackles and jail scrubs. He was seen laughing and smiling ahead of his first court appearance. 

He faces charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Authorities said he could be hit with additional charges. 

Routh will be arraigned on Sept. 30. 

Shortly following the attempt, Trump reassured supporters he was “safe and well,” while vowing to “never surrender.”

“There were gunshots in my vicinity but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” he posted in a campaign message. “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries’ office regarding his X post and Trump’s comments blaming Democratic rhetoric for the attempt Sunday but did not immediately receive a reply.

Former President Trump is pledging to “save our cities” from what he has called a “migrant invasion,” outlining his plans to cut a number of migrant programs if re-elected to the White House – amid an ongoing debate over Haitian migration.

“As President I will immediately end the migrant invasion of America,” Trump said in a social media post on Sunday.

Trump has spent much of his election campaign promising to secure the southern border. Last week he said he wants to be known as the “border president” and has previously promised to launch a mass deportation effort.

MEXICAN GOVERNMENT BUSES MIGRANTS TO US BORDER AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION BECOMES TOP ELECTION ISSUE

However, on Sunday he also refocused on broader migration policies, some not directly related to the southern border or illegal immigration – including the ending of the Biden-era use of humanitarian parole and the suspension of refugee resettlement.

“We will stop all migrant flights, end all illegal entries, terminate the Kamala phone app for smuggling illegals (CBP One App), revoke deportation immunity, suspend refugee resettlement, and return Kamala’s illegal migrants to their home countries (also known as remigration),” he said.

The remarks came after the influx of Haitian migrants into the small town of Springfield, Ohio, was in the spotlight. At last week’s presidential debate, Trump echoed viral claims that migrants had been seen eating pets and animals.

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” Trump said. “They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”

FOCUS GROUP REACTS TO TRUMP CLAIM THAT MIGRANTS ARE ‘EATING THE DOGS’ IN OHIO TOWN

Officials in Springfield have denied that claim, saying there is no evidence or substantiated reports of such incidents. But local residents have expressed concern and anger about the impact that the influx of many more than 12,000 migrants from the impoverished country has had on their community.

Trump’s proposals identified ways to limit the number of pathways for those, including Haitians, to enter or stay legally in the U.S. and which have been either created or expanded under the Biden administration.

Trump’s reference to migrant flights appears to refer to the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan parole processes, which allow up to 30,000 migrants from those countries to enter each month and be paroled into the U.S. for 18 months. Trump could both end CHNV, and also limit the renewal of the parole authorization.

Trump also mentioned ending “deportation immunity,” referring to Temporary Protected Status, which shields nationals of designated countries from deportation and offers them work permits. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas most recently extended and redesignated Haiti for TPS until February 2026. 

The City of Springfield said in an official FAQ that the approximately 12,000-15,000 immigrants in the city from Haiti arrived via parole and are protected via TPS.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

Trump also said he would end the use of the “Kamala phone app” – the CBP One app. The app was introduced during the Trump administration, but was expanded by the Biden administration to allow migrants to make appointments to be paroled into the U.S. at ports of entry. Currently, about 1,450 migrants are being paroled into the U.S. each day under the app. Republicans have said its use has been an abuse of parole – which is limited to a case-by-case basis for significant public benefit or urgent humanitarian need.

Trump also promised to suspend refugee resettlement, which dropped to lows under the Trump administration. In the last year in office, the administration set a cap of just 15,000 a year. That has expanded to a cap of 125,000 under President Biden.

“I will save our cities and towns in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and all across America. #MAGA2024!” Trump said in his social media post.

The plans would be a stark contrast from the Biden administration, which has significantly expanded its “lawful pathways” as part of its strategy to deal with the historic crisis at the southern border. It has also criticized Trump for not supporting a bipartisan bill that would have increased funding to border agencies and limited some arrivals into the U.S. if they reached a certain level.

The U.S. Navy on Monday will begin to defend its use of race as an admissions factor at the Naval Academy after a Supreme Court case overturning affirmative action left a carve out for service academies. 

The same group that brought the case to end affirmative action to the Supreme Court’s attention, Students for Fair Admissions, brought a case against the Naval Academy after the Supreme Court’s ruling explicitly did not address the consideration of race as a factor in admissions at military academies. 

The case kicked off Monday and is being heard in Baltimore by District Judge Richard D. Bennett, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, without the assistance of a jury. 

NAVY LAUNCHES FIRST SUBMARINE BUILT FOR BOTH GENDERS 

Chief Justice John Roberts said factoring race into admissions had “potentially distinct” interests for service academies. 

A June 2023 Supreme Court ruling banned policies that had been in use for decades that gave preference to Black, Hispanic and other minority students on U.S. campuses. The case specifically involved Harvard and North Carolina but applied broadly to mostly all universities except service academies. 

Students for Fair Admissions, led by anti-affirmative action advocate Jason Blum, is arguing the ruling should be extended to service academies, claiming the policies there are discriminatory and violate the principle of equal protection in the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment.

A separate case is playing out in the court system in New York involving the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. 

The Naval Academy asks applicants to identify their race, ethnicity and cultural heritage in its online application but says it only considers those factors in limited circumstances.

“Most candidates are unaffected by the consideration of race,” lawyers for the Naval Academy wrote in court filings.

The newly enrolled Class of 2028 includes 642 White students, 178 Hispanic Americans, 132 Asian Americans, 70 African Americans and four Native Americans among a class of nearly 1,200.

NAVY TO SIDELINE 17 VESSELS DUE TO MANPOWER SHORTAGE, OPERATING CREWS WILL BE REDISTRIBUTED: REPORT

“One does not need to conduct a statistical analysis to see the obvious,” the lawyers wrote. “Despite the Naval Academy’s substantial efforts to increase the number of minority students over time … the number of minority students in every class, and in particular Black American and Hispanic students, falls far short of reflecting the nation’s racial and ethnic demographics.”

The attorneys argue that “unlike civilian universities, USNA prepares students for war.”

Racial diversity is required for national security because it boosts the legitimacy of U.S. fighting forces to the world, fosters cohesion and helps with recruiting, according to the lawyers. 

Students for Fair Admissions claims the academy “manipulates admissions outcomes” to mirror the makeup of the U.S. population, which unfairly disadvantages White and Asian students. 

“The Academy has no justification for using race-based admissions,” the group’s lawyers wrote in court filings. “Those admissions are unconstitutional for all other public institutions of higher education.”

In December, Bennett denied a bid to temporarily bar the Naval Academy from considering race while the lawsuit awaited trial. 

The Democrats’ Senate campaign arm announced massive new spending across the country on Monday focused on contacting voters directly with less than 50 days until the election. 

The $25 million venture is split across 10 states, including Senate battlegrounds Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Montana, as well as places where Democrats are hoping to unseat incumbent Republicans, such as Florida and Texas, despite expectations for Republicans to hold on to them. 

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) also spent part of the money in Maryland, where popular former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is threatening the party’s grasp on the state. 

TAMMY BALDWIN FACES CONFLICT OF INTEREST CONCERNS OVER PARTNER’S WALL STREET GIG

“A formidable ground game makes all the difference in close races – which is why the DSCC has been working all cycle long to build the organizing infrastructure that will lead to Senate Democrats’ victory,” DSCC Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., said in a statement. 

“This increased investment will help our campaigns expand their organizing capacity, communicate with more voters about the importance of participating in this election and ensure we are reaching every voter we need to win.” 

JON TESTER CASTS DOUBT ON UNFAVORABLE POLL IN MONTANA SENATE RACE: ‘GIVE ME A BREAK’

In the 10 states, the DSCC’s cash injection will be spent on extra political organizers on the ground, in addition to programs for phone banking, targeted voter constituencies and digital organizing.

The committee also said it could increase this funding ahead of the election. 

TOP SENATORS BRIEFED ON ‘MAJOR ERRORS’ LEADING UP TO TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

The newly announced spending comes as polls tighten in key races where Republicans are looking to unseat vulnerable incumbent Democrats, giving the GOP a clear shot at taking the Senate majority. 

Former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, the Republican Senate candidate in Montana, was recently given the advantage over his opponent, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., as two top political handicappers shifted the race from a “toss up” to “leans Republican.”

DEMS RUN ON BORDER BILL REPUBLICANS SAY ‘WAS NEVER DESIGNED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM’

In another top race, incumbent Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., was tied by Republican candidate Dave McCormick, with each posting 46% in a recent CNN survey. 

In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines, R-Mont., for the first time claimed the Republicans would take back the Senate majority in the upcoming election.

He explained, “Fifty-one is the number that we want to get to. Clearly, there’s an opportunity to get beyond that, but 51 is the number we’ve got to get to.” 

GOP Sen. Josh Hawley released a wide-ranging report Monday morning detailing the failures of the Secret Service in connection with the first assassination attempt against former President Trump in July, including new whistleblower allegations that are “highly damaging to the credibility” of the agency. 

Hawley, R-Mo., shared his report with the House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump to supplement their investigation. 

Hawley found a “compounding pattern of negligence, sloppiness, and gross incompetence that goes back years, all of which culminated in an assassination attempt that came inches from succeeding.” 

“On July 13, 2024, former President Donald J. Trump was nearly killed by an assassin’s bullet while hosting a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Secret Service failed to prevent it,” the Hawley report states. “It was the most stunning breakdown in presidential security since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.” 

TRUMP BLAMES BIDEN-HARRIS ‘RHETORIC’ FOR LATEST ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, SAYS HE WILL ‘SAVE THE COUNTRY’

Hawley said the Secret Service, FBI and Department of Homeland Security “have all tried to evade real accountability.” 

“These agencies and their leaders have slow-walked congressional investigations, misled the American people, and shirked responsibility,” the report states. 

After the first of two assassination attempts against Trump in just over two months, Hawley visited the Butler rally site to interview whistleblowers and opened up a whistleblower tip line, encouraging those with relevant information to share with officials. 

“The resulting findings are highly damaging to the credibility of the Secret Service and DHS,” the report states. “They reveal a compounding pattern of negligence, sloppiness, and gross incompetence that goes back years, all of which culminated in an assassination attempt that came inches from succeeding.” 

Whistleblowers provided valuable information to Hawley, including that the Secret Service’s Counter Surveillance Division, which performs threat assessments of event sites, did not perform a typical evaluation of the Butler site and was not present on the day of the rally. 

Hawley also learned that Secret Service personnel “declined multiple offers from a local law enforcement partner to deploy drone technology, despite the fact that the would-be assassin used a drone to survey the rally site mere hours before the attempted assassination.” 

Hawley also learned that the Secret Service’s Office of Protective Operations-Manpower told agents in charge of security for the rally “not to request additional security resources because they would be denied.” 

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: WHISTLEBLOWERS CLAIM THAT THEY WERE ‘WOEFULLY UNPREPARED’ TO PROVIDE SECURITY

The report also outlines other whistleblower allegations, including that law enforcement personnel “abandoned” the rooftop where would-be assassin Thomas Crooks attempted to assassinate Trump “because of hot weather.”

The report also said the Secret Service agent with the responsibility of the security of the site, including “line-of-site concerns,” was allegedly “known to be incompetent.” 

“That incompetence led to the placement of items like flags around the Butler stage and catwalk, impairing visibility,” the report states. 

Whistleblowers also told Hawley that supplemental DHS personnel were used to fill in shortages of Secret Service personnel on the day of the rally. Some of those agents were allegedly pulled off of child exploitation cases. Whistleblowers said their training was “merely a poor-quality, two-hour webinar.” 

Meanwhile, Hawley revealed in the report that the lead agent responsible for the Butler rally “failed a key examination during their federal law enforcement training to become a Secret Service agent.” 

Hawley also was told that Secret Service intelligence units – or teams of Secret Service agents paired with state and local law enforcement to handle reports of suspicious persons – were allegedly absent from the Butler rally.

Whistleblowers also told Hawley that the hospital site where Trump received treatment after the shooting was “poorly secured, and the hospital site agent could not answer basic questions about site security.” 

Kimberly Cheatle, who was the director of the Secret Service at the time of the rally, resigned from her post amid mounting pressure from congressional lawmakers on both sides of the aisle after the massive security failure. 

The Secret Service’s assistant director, Michael Plati, is also retiring. 

At least five Secret Service agents have been placed on leave since the assassination attempt in July. 

Trump was shot with Crooks’ bullet, which pierced the upper part of his right ear. As Secret Service agents led him away, with blood dripping down his cheek and his right ear, the former president raised his arm defiantly. 

Trump, just a day later, traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the 2024 Republican National Convention. He attended events each night of the convention, and on the final night, formally accepted the GOP presidential nomination. 

Hawley released his report just a day after the second assassination attempt against Trump. 

Trump was golfing at his course at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida, Sunday when Secret Service agents spotted and began shooting at another would-be assassin – Ryan Wesley Routh – who allegedly had an AK-47 pointed at the former president on the green. 

Routh was arrested. Routh laughed and smiled ahead of his first court appearance in Florida on Monday, Fox News confirmed. 

He was charged with possession of firearm by convicted felon and possession of firearm with obliterated serial number. 

The first offense carried a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and supervised release. The second offense carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and supervised release. Routh responded “yes” when asked if he understood the penalties. 

TRUMP SAYS HE WAS ‘SHOT WITH A BULLET’ IN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AT PENNSYLVANIA RALLY

Fox News is told additional federal charges are possible. The initial charges announced Monday will keep Routh in custody.

The detention hearing is scheduled for Sept. 23, and the probable cause hearing is set for Sept. 30.

Routh has had at least 100 run-ins with law enforcement before his most recent arrest. 

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Trump said the rhetoric of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris is causing him to be “shot at,” following the second assassination attempt against him since July, while telling Fox News Digital that the suspected gunman “acted” on “highly inflammatory language” of Democrats.  

“He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,” Trump said of the gunman in an interview with Fox News Digital. “Their 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.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Trump pointed to Biden and Harris’ past comments casting Trump as a “threat to democracy,” while telling Americans they are “unity” leaders. 

“They are the opposite,” Trump said. “These are people that want to destroy our country.” 

He added: “It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat.”