From Trump voter to potential Trump assassin, Ryan Routh is the second person to attempt to take the presidential candidate’s life in just two months.
And like Thomas Cook, which tried to take Trump’s life less than two months ago, Routh’s political beliefs are equally confused and oblique.
Routh, 58, voted for Trump in 2016 and then became a staunch “anti-Trump” after the 2020 loss. He had a Biden-Harris bumper sticker on his truck but criticized Biden online.
Routh traveled to Ukraine to be a freedom fighter and dyed his hair the color of the Ukrainian flag, but he was a fan of short-term Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who was staunchly opposed to helping Ukrainians in their war against Russia.
Dr Raj Persaud, a prominent psychologist in the UK, said his contradictory political views were a sign that Routh was a disturbed person driven by delusions of grandeur rather than an ideologue genuinely trying to save democracy.
Would-be Trump assassin Ryan Wesley Routh likely suffered from a psychiatric or personality disorder, psychologists say, though it’s unclear whether he was ever diagnosed with one.
Routh is pictured above during his arrest. He fled the scene after being spotted by Secret Service officers and fired shots in his direction.
Dr Persaud said Routh appeared to have a delusional sense of grandeur, or an unrealistic sense of superiority, uniqueness or invulnerability.
Their mental health issues and sense of grandeur mean they continue to struggle in society and fail to hold down a job or relationship.
Over time, this creates a build-up of tension and they begin to blame those around them for their shortcomings instead of themselves.
It is this resentment that leads them to launch an attack on a symbol of society, such as a presidential candidate, to get revenge or to prove that they are “really something special” and that they have been “underestimated” by everyone.
Dr. Persaud said Trump was a target because the former president is highly visible.
Dr Persaud said: ‘I think Trump is an easier target… because for these unsuitable men Trump is more annoying and seems to have everything they crave.
‘(Trump) is supposedly a billionaire and has a supermodel wife, but he has his own TV series and flies around on a private jet.
“He’s living the dream as far as they’re concerned… he’s living their dream.”
These individuals also tend to be lone actors, Dr. Persaud said, rather than acting in groups, which are much harder to protect against.
Dr. Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist in New York City, pointed to Routh’s frequent run-ins with the law (including a hit-and-run and a machine gun possession charge dating back to 2002) as a sign that he may have had antisocial personality disorder, a condition in which sufferers have a persistent disregard for the rights of others.
There are also signs of delusions of grandeur during Routh’s stay in Ukraine, where he says he was based for five months.
While there, he attempted to join a foreign legion and, when he was rejected, he set out to recruit fighters himself. This led other fighters to view him as deluded as to their importance.
Evelyn Aschenbrenner, an American citizen who serves in the legion, said CNN: ‘He seemed to have some sort of delusion of grandeur. I was thinking, “All you’re doing is causing headaches for everyone… the Legion already has a recruitment website, there’s no need for you to do this.”
Suspected killer Ryan Routh is pictured above in the main square in kyiv, Ukraine. The square was broadcast to the world at the start of the war in 2022.
Another fighter in Ukraine told the The New York Post:(Routh was) a crazy idiot, but no one is really surprised.
“People like that come along, desperate to help and be important, and he was one of them, just at the craziest end of things.”
There are also signs of delusions of grandeur in his decision to publish his own 291-page book entitled “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War,” which sold for $2.99 online.
The economist The text, from 2023, is a mix of diary and political treatise.
Routh even compares himself at one point to George Orwell.
It is unclear whether Mr. Routh has ever been diagnosed with any psychiatric or personality disorders.
The truck parked in front of Routh’s home had a Biden/Harris bumper sticker on it. Psychologists say the attack likely had little to do with politics
Routh is 58 years old and is now in police custody.
Routh’s political views are riddled with contradictions, including his support for the war in Ukraine and Vivek Ramaswamy, who is against supporting that country.
She also previously wrote online about how she voted for Trump but later switched to the Democratic Party. In later online posts, she described her strong dislike of Biden.
Dr Persuad said: ‘People are always looking for political affiliations, but research has shown time and again that these people are not politically motivated.
“These are not hard-line Republicans or Democrats, they are people who are motivated not by politics but by personality issues and resentment against society at large.”
West Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw holds a picture of Routh’s backpack, purse, GoPro and AK-47-style rifle that were left outside Trump International Golf Club on Sunday when he fled the scene as Secret Service opened fire.
The gunman was positioned two holes down from where Trump was golfing on Sunday when the Secret Service fired in his direction. The hole is the area of the course closest to the road and presents the most “vulnerabilities,” according to people familiar with the course.
Psychotherapists also came forward in the wake of the attempted assassination of Trump in Pennsylvania in July to say again that the move likely had little to do with politics.
Dr. Rachel Toles, a licensed clinical psychologist based in California, said people in these situations often have extremely damaged egos and have a desire to eliminate someone who has what they covet most, which could be success or popularity.
It is possible, he said, that Trump represented something his attacker, Thomas Matthew Crooks, deeply desired.
Dr Toles told DailyMail.com: ‘We’re talking about someone who feels incredibly invisible and is targeting the most visible man on the floor.
“I think it’s more about that than about Donald Trump as a politician.”
The Crooks had no criminal record, unlike Routh, and virtually no online presence (popular social media sites like TikTok and Instagram were missing).
His classmates and school officials reportedly often characterized him as quiet, and some said he was often bullied because of his body odor and for wearing camouflaged hunting suits and surgical masks to school.