A newly emerged interview with Donald Trump’s would-be assassin shows him discussing his efforts to support Kiev, as it is revealed he travelled to Ukraine after claiming the war with Russia was a simple case of good versus evil.
Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect named in a possible assassination attempt near Trump’s golf club on Sunday, was interviewed by Newsweek Romania in 2022, in which he expressed his dissatisfaction with world leaders for their handling of the conflict.
“It seems absurd that we have a leader of a country who doesn’t understand the concept of being selfless, being generous, being kind and just the basic moral values that human beings require today… it just blows my mind.”
‘We have to defend humanity, human rights, everything that is good in the world.
“Why world leaders don’t send in military forces is beyond me.
Ryan Wesley Routh Talks to Newsweek Romania About Russia-Ukraine War in 2022
Ryan Wesley Routh holds a banner during a demonstration in central kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 30, 2022.
Ryan Wesley Routh pays tribute to foreign citizens killed during the war between Russia and Ukraine in a central square in kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 30, 2022.
‘Next time we will have to elect new leaders who have the character and strength to say: ‘We will not tolerate this kind of behavior.’
“The world doesn’t care? That’s the feeling I struggle with every day.”
He also spoke to Newsweek about his motivation to help Ukraine fight off Vladimir Putin’s troops. Routh, a former construction worker from Greensboro, North Carolina, spent several months in Ukraine in 2022.
“The question of why I’m here… for me, a lot of the other conflicts are gray, but this conflict is definitely black and white,” Routh told Newsweek.
‘My original goal was to come and fight. All of us, from all over the planet, should be motivated to support the Ukrainian army, but I am 56 years old and have no military experience, so I am not an ideal candidate to fight.
“Plan B was to come to kyiv and promote the idea of many others joining the International Legion. We need thousands of people here to fight alongside the Ukrainians.”
Routh had also posted a video of himself in Ukraine in 2022 claiming to have helped gather soldiers for the International Legion, Ukraine’s military unit for foreign volunteer fighters.
Ryan Routh, who allegedly tried to shoot Donald Trump at one of his Florida golf courses, is arrested on September 15, 2024
Now-deleted Facebook profile of Ryan Routh, who allegedly tried to shoot Donald Trump at one of his Florida golf courses on September 15, 2024
Secret Service agents yesterday thwarted an assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate former US President Donald Trump while he was playing golf in Florida.
This comes after a bullet hit Donald Trump in the right ear during an assassination attempt on July 13 at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“I am ready to fly to Krakow and go to the Ukrainian border to volunteer, fight and die,” X wrote weeks after the Russian invasion.
In a video posted online, Routh described his role to those wondering why he had traveled to the war-torn country.
“Many people are wondering what I’m doing in Ukraine. This is a center to help people who come from other countries to have a place, someone to talk to, like a welcoming committee to get them to the place they need to be,” he said while wearing a stars-and-stripes scarf around his neck.
“We are helping foreigners to be as useful as possible, to maximise their potential. Everyone here is self-supporting. Everyone is struggling to get money to feed themselves. Any support will be greatly appreciated,” he pleaded.
Routh, who had no military experience, explained his plan to recruit fighters by moving Afghan soldiers, in some cases illegally, from Pakistan and Iran into Ukraine. At the time, he said dozens of them had expressed interest.
“We can probably buy some passports through Pakistan as it is a very corrupt country,” he said during an interview at the time.
Writing on the messaging app Signal, Routh stated: “Civilians must change this war and prevent future wars” as part of his profile bio.
Shortly after the war began, Routh sent an X-text to Elon Musk, writing: “I would like to buy a rocket from you. I wish to load it with a warhead for Putin’s bunker in the Black Sea to take him out. Can you please give me a price?”
Routh was so dedicated to Ukraine’s war effort that he even helped cut the grass on Independence Square in kyiv with scissors.
Ryan Wesley Routh, right, takes part in a demonstration in central kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 30, 2022.
This screenshot taken from AFPTV on September 16, 2024 shows Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview at a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organizations to help provide humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of Ukrainian civilians and military personnel from Mariupol in central Kyiv on April 27, 2022.
Despite Routh’s efforts to help kyiv defeat the Russians, Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky has condemned the apparent assassination attempt and said there is no place for political violence.
“I am glad to know that Donald Trump is safe and sound. I wish him and his family all the best. It is good that the suspect of the attempted murder was quickly detained. This is our principle: the rule of law is paramount and political violence has no place anywhere in the world,” the Ukrainian leader said on X.
The resurfaced Newsweek interview comes after eagle-eyed Secret Service agents opened fire on Routh yesterday after spotting him aiming a rifle through a fence bordering Trump’s private golf club in West Palm Beach, just a few hundred yards from the former president.
The incident took place exactly two months after another assassination attempt on Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The FBI described it as an apparent assassination attempt against the Republican candidate.
Routh had voted for Trump in 2016 instead of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, but in 2019 he began making small donations to Democratic candidates, according to The times.
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