Neighbors of the man who tried to assassinate Donald Trump at his Florida golf course say the gunman had a reputation for being "a little cuckoo."
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested outside Trump International Golf Course on Sunday afternoon after Secret Service found him hiding in the bushes with a rifle.
Details of the shooter's life are being filled in after the shocking assassination attempt, which is the second attempted killing of Trump in a few months.
A pickup truck outside Routh's Hawaii home had a Biden-Harris bumper sticker. In social media posts, Routh echoed rhetoric from Biden and Harris alleging that Trump is a threat to democracy.
A neighbor in North Carolina, where Routh lived until recently, said she is shocked at what Routh did, but he made people uncomfortable.
"I thought he was just living the life in Hawaii with the girlfriend and all, so for him to be assassinating the president, that’s just crazy."
"I mean I didn't think he would go that far. I knew he was a little cuckoo, but assassinating the president? I mean he's going to be going away for a long time," the neighbor said.
Routh's estranged son told the Daily Mail that his father hates Trump "like every reasonable person does." The gunman's social media posts included rants against Trump, whom Routh supported in 2016 before embracing Democrats.
“I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving; are you retarded; I will be glad when you gone,” he wrote to Trump.
President Trump has blamed Democrats for inciting the attack with their radical rhetoric.
The Rhetoric, Lies, as exemplified by the false statements made by Comrade Kamala Harris during the rigged and highly partisan ABC Debate, and all of the ridiculous lawsuits specifically designed to inflict damage on Joe’s, then Kamala’s, Political Opponent, ME, has taken…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 16, 2024
Routh was about 300 to 500 yards away from Trump when Secret Service noticed the barrel of his gun poking out. Trump's security detail shot at Routh, who fled the scene in his car before he was arrested down the road on I-95.
