An assassination attempt by a radical supporter of Ukraine occurred less than a week after Vice President Kamala Harris lied that former President Donald Trump had told Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine.
Harris said during the debate with Trump:
It is well known that he admires dictators, wants to be a dictator on day one according to himself. It is well known that he said of Putin that he can do whatever the hell he wants and go into Ukraine. It is well known he said that when Russia went into Ukraine it was brilliant.
Despite this not being true, ABC News moderator Linsey Davis responded, “Vice President Harris, thank you.”
Viewers gather to watch a debate between Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Angry Elephant Bar and Grill, on September 10, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Trump never told Putin he could “do whatever the hell he wants and go into Ukraine.”
The lie that Trump told Putin he could “do whatever the hell he wants” stems from Trump recalling during a rally this year when former German Chancellor Angela Merkel had asked him if the U.S. would defend Germany against Russia if Germany did not meet its defense spending obligations under the NATO treaty. Trump said he told her, “No, I would not protect you … In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills.”
Trump was speaking hypothetically about a hypothetical situation, to pressure Germany — the largest economy in Europe — to meet its obligations to spend two percent of its GDP on its own defense. He never told Putin to do “whatever the hell he wants” and never told Putin to “invade Ukraine.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, attend the Eurasian Economic Council in Yerevan, Armenia, on October 1, 2019. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
This lie has been repeated many times, by President Joe Biden and other Democrats, and again, most recently by Harris on the debate stage.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, the man suspected of attempting an assassination of Trump on Sunday was such a fervent supporter of Ukraine. Routh went to Ukraine in 2022 wanting to fight but was rejected due to his age and lack of military experience, according to reports.
Instead, Routh turned to recruiting Afghan soldiers to fight in Ukraine, according to the New York Times.
Routh told the Times, “In my opinion, everyone should be there supporting the Ukrainians.”
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According to Reuters, he told Newsweek Romania, “A lot of the other conflicts are grey but this conflict is definitely black and white. This is about good versus evil.”
“If the governments will not send their official military, then we, civilians, have to pick up the torch and make this thing happen and we have gotten some wonderful people here but it is a small fraction of the number that should be here,” he reportedly said.
A Semafor article in March 2023 identified Routh as the head of the International Volunteer Center, which reportedly helped foreigners wanting to support Ukraine through military and humanitarian means.
Routh self-published a book in 2023 titled “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War,” which described Trump as a “fool” and “buffoon,” according to the Associated Press.
Routh posted frequently on social media about Ukraine and other conflicts, and he had a website seeking to raise money and recruit volunteers to fight for Kyiv, the AP also reported.
He also once posted on X, “I am going to fight and die for Ukraine.”
The AP reported that it shot video of Routh at a demonstration in Kyiv’s Independence Square in April 2020 — only two months after the invasion of Ukraine. He was seen holding a placard that said, “We cannot tolerate corruption and evil for another 50+ years. End Russia for our kids.” He also later that day visited a memorial for “Foreigners killed by Putin.”
Routh also wanted to organized a “We are the World”-style effort for Ukraine. “I have lyrics and music,” he posted on X, according to the AP.
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