Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has reacted to the “horrifying” apparent second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump while defending migrants over baseless claims that they are eating pets in an Ohio city.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested on Sunday shortly after he was seen stationed outside the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, with an assault rifle pointed toward the golf course as the former president was playing nearby, police said.
While Routh did not open fire and Trump was unharmed, the FBI said that the incident was “what appears to be an assassination attempt” just over two months after a bullet grazed the former president’s ear during an assassination attempt that killed one person and injured two others at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
DeWine reacted to the Florida incident during a Monday CNN appearance addressing the issues in Springfield, Ohio, where schools and Haitian migrants have been facing threats after Trump and running mate JD Vance pushed false claims that the migrants have been abducting and eating pet cats and dogs.
Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, left, is pictured with then-President Donald Trump at Akron-Canton Airport in Canton, Ohio, on March 20. DeWine on Monday called an apparent second Trump assassination attempt “horrifying,” while also pointing out that the ex-president’s claims about migrants eating pets in his state are not supported by any credible evidence.
SAUL LOEB/AFP
“It’s horrifying,” DeWine said of the apparent assassination attempt. “I mean, it’s absolutely horrifying … I know Congress will be looking at this again. It seems to me that they don’t have enough resources, they don’t have enough people.”
“We have a unique situation,” he continued. “We have Donald Trump, who has been president, who is running again. He deserves the same type of security that the incumbent president does and that, you know, the Democrat vice president does, who is running for president.”
Secret Service acting director Ronald Rowe said during a news conference earlier on Monday that Trump already had the “highest level of protection” following the assassination attempt in July, with Rowe adding that the “security plan worked” in thwarting the apparent attempt on Sunday.
DeWine also addressed Trump’s pet-eating claim during his CNN interview on Monday, pointing out that the claim is not supported by evidence while defending a community of Haitian immigrants that has been facing repeated threats since the former president pushed the claim during his September 10 debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
“My job is to reflect exactly on what’s going on in Springfield,” DeWine said. “The mayor tells us, and the chief of police tells us, that there’s been no evidence at all of anyone eating a dog or any Haitians doing any of that. These Haitians that are there are legal.”
“They work very, very hard,” he added. “I met this morning with a number of businesspeople who employ these Haitians and they tell me they are really essential to getting the job done. They work hard, they’re family-focused.”
Newsweek reached out for comment to the Trump campaign via email on Monday evening.
Republican Springfield Mayor Rob Rue told Politico on Monday that he was “frustrated” by Trump’s remarks and declined to commit to backing Trump and Vance in November.
“Any political leader that takes the national stage and has the national spotlight needs to understand the gravity of the words that they have for cities like ours, and what they say impacts our city,” Rue said. “We’ve had bomb threats the last two days. We’ve had personal threats the last two days, and it’s increasing.”
“It is a bit out of control,” he added. “And for what it’s worth, your pets are safe in Springfield, Ohio.”
Politico also reported that two Republican county commissioners were declining to commit to voting for Trump following the pet-eating claim and the threats to local residents that followed.
Trump insisted during a campaign stop in Las Vegas on Saturday that there was no connection between his claims about Springfield and the threats, while continuing to falsely claim that the town was full of “illegal” migrants.
“I don’t know what happened with the bomb threats,” Trump told reporters, according to CNN. “I know that it’s been taken over by illegal migrants, and that’s a terrible thing that happened. Springfield was this beautiful town, and now they’re going through hell.”
