Federal agents told the 2024 GOP nominee that they couldn’t ensure his safety to a degree they were comfortable with if he continued to play the game.
President Donald Trump has temporarily retired his golf clubs, and will not be playing the sport again until after the election, according to sources close to the Trump campaign. The decision follows the second assassination attempt on his life at his Florida golf course in Sept. After that, federal agents told the 2024 GOP nominee that they couldn't ensure his safety to a degree they were comfortable with if he continued to play the game, NBC News reported.
Trump was briefed by federal law enforcement agents in two separate meetings to address safety concerns. Both Ronald Rowe, the acting director of the Secret Service, and another official from the national intelligence director's office advised Trump to put his clubs down until after the election.
During the conversation with Rowe, President Trump was told that several of his golf courses are too close to public roads and therefore protection agencies would need to significantly increase security measures in order to keep him safe, which Rowe explained would be a difficult task, as reported by The New York Times.
Trump has 18 golf properties worldwide, including courses in Dubai and Oman, and the sport has been an integral part of his life. He is often seen playing with his kids and grandkids. Upon leaving the White House, the former president made his Mar-A-Lago West Palm Beach club his permanent residence. There's no question Trump loves the sport, but bad actors have since used it against him.
On Sept. 18, suspect Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested after attempting to assassinate Trump while he was playing golf at Mar-A-Lago. Prosecutors said Routh stalked Trump for over a month before Secret Service agents spotted him hiding in the bushes with an assault rifle pointed at Trump on the golf course. An agent fired off shots after seeing the barrel of the firearm, prompting Routh to make a run for it before he was snatched by law enforcement.
Investigators found a letter allegedly written by Routh that detailed his plan to assassinate the GOP nominee. Routh recently pleaded not guilty to attempted assassination charges. He will remain in custody pending trial.
Routh is the second person who attempted to assassinate Trump in the span of a couple of months. The 45th president was shot at during his rally on July 13 in Butler, PA by would-be assassin Thomas Crooks, who was neutralized by a sniper rifle. Trump was hit in the ear. The US government has since warned Trump that other bad actors, both foreign and domestic, are trying to assassinate him.
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