Former Vice President Kamala Harris suggested in her new book that President Donald Trump is partly responsible for the second attempt on his life at a Florida golf course in September 2024 — due to Republicans’ support for “lax gun laws.”
Harris made the claim in her newly released memoir, “107 Days,” while seeking to refute that Democrats’ inflammatory messaging has incited individuals to violence against Trump. The failed Democratic presidential candidate wrote that Trump should have blamed Republicans’ opposition to gun control in the wake of the second assassination attempt despite the accused man, Ryan Routh, illegally obtaining a firearm.
“Trump was quick to blame our campaign rhetoric for calling him out as a threat to democracy,” Harris wrote in her book. “He should have been blaming the lax gun laws he championed, since the arrested man, who had a criminal record, had been flagged by the FBI as being illegally in possession of weapons, including a fully automatic machine gun.”
“Despite numerous convictions, he’d obviously had no trouble obtaining a lethal weapon,” Harris added.
Routh, 59, faced five federal charges for allegedly attempting to gun down the president at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. in September 2024. A jury found Routh guilty on all charges on Tuesday after deliberating less than three hours before announcing their verdict. Routh declined to be represented by a public defender during the 12-day trial and will face life in prison following the jury’s conviction.
Law enforcement found 19 rounds in the magazine of the SKS rifle, including one in the chamber, in the bushes of Trump’s Palm Beach golf course.
Routh had a lengthy criminal history before allegedly deciding to take Trump’s life. As a convicted felon, Routh was legally barred from purchasing a firearm, but was able to obtain a Chinese-made SKS semi-automatic rifle through two associates.
Federal prosecutors secured plea deals from two North Carolina residents in July for illegally assisting Routh obtain the firearm.
Harris came under sharp criticism from Republicans during her accelerated campaign for referring to Trump as a “fascist.”
The former vice president has chosen to double down on her inflammatory rhetoric in the aftermath of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Harris called Trump a “tyrant” during her first interview since the 2024 election loss with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Monday.
Federal prosecutors argued that Routh had planned to kill Trump “for a long, long time” during closing arguments.
“This was not a publicity stunt,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Browne told jurors. “The evidence has shown one thing and one thing only — the defendant wanted Donald Trump dead.”
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