Secret Service Fails Trump Again, DeSantis Cleans Up

M.A.P. Photos / shutterstock.com
M.A.P. Photos / shutterstock.com

It’s getting wild down in Florida, and Ron DeSantis seems to have had enough. The governor has announced that Florida is launching its own investigation into an assassination attempt on former President Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club. Yes, you read that right—an assassination attempt at Trump’s own golf course. And how did someone get so close to Trump with a rifle? Someone’s clearly not doing their job.

DeSantis took to X (formerly Twitter) to say Florida would handle the investigation. He pointed out that the people “deserve the truth” about this failed assassin and how he got within 500 yards of Trump. Shouldn’t the Secret Service have that covered? Apparently not, because Florida has to step in where federal agencies can’t seem to.

Fox News reports that the suspect, Ryan Routh, was found camping in the bushes near Trump’s golf course with an AK-style rifle. And here’s the kicker: a Secret Service agent who was walking ahead of Trump, who was out golfing, spotted the muzzle sticking through the fence. The agent fired, but Routh got away in a car, only to be arrested later. Really? We’re relying on chance encounters while Trump golfs to keep him safe?

Not long after, Trump’s campaign confirmed that the former president was unharmed. Communications Director Steven Cheung said Trump was fine—thankfully. But honestly, how many close calls will it take before someone starts asking serious questions about how these security breaches keep happening?

And if that wasn’t strange enough, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw added that Routh had a GoPro camera and two backpacks filled with ceramic tiles. What was he doing with that? Not exactly the equipment you’d expect at a golf course unless he planned to do some DIY on the green. The guy got within 300 to 500 yards of Trump, which is way too close for comfort.

Now the FBI says it’s investigating the “apparent assassination attempt.” But does that give anyone confidence? Their track record with anything involving Trump isn’t great. And former Navy SEAL Erik Prince clearly doesn’t trust the feds either. He publicly urged DeSantis to take control of the investigation, saying Florida should do its own thorough and transparent review before letting the feds get involved. Can you blame him? The feds botched things during the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, back in July, and nobody’s forgotten that disaster.

Prince has been vocal about the Secret Service’s failures, especially after the Pennsylvania incident. The same issues seem to be repeating themselves in Florida. During a recent forum at The Heritage Foundation, Prince pointed out how lucky Trump was that the shooter wasn’t more skilled. If a group like Hezbollah or ISIS had been involved, Trump might not have been so fortunate. It’s chilling to think about, but maybe this will finally push someone to improve security before it’s too late. As Prince said, we were lucky the shooter missed because they aimed for Trump’s head. What if they had been aiming at his body? That thought should make everyone uncomfortable.

So here we are again, with federal agencies dragging their feet while DeSantis and Florida take the lead. The media isn’t raising much of a fuss over this—surprise, surprise. Imagine if it had been a Democrat president targeted in an assassination attempt. You’d never hear the end of it. But for Trump, it’s just another close call that’ll be brushed off by the usual suspects. Maybe if the right people asked the right questions, we wouldn’t keep seeing these incidents happen.