Alleged Trump would-be assassin writes ‘not exactly coherent’ letter calling for peace

A man who is in prison awaiting trial on charges he tried to assassinate now President-elect Donald Trump has written to Politico to call for peace, a demand that the publication itself describes as “not exactly” coherent.

It is Ryan Routh who sent a letter to Ankush Khardori, a senior writer for Politico, who then described it in excerpts.

He cited Routh’s obvious leftist leanings and demands for peace, and advised, “Take this all for what it’s worth, which may not be much. After all, the basic message — a call for peace from someone who appears to have attempted an assassination — is not exactly a coherent or compelling one in the first place.”

He said Routh “clearly views Trump as a threat to democracy, echoing a major piece of Democrats’ case against Trump during this election cycle, as well as that of anti-Trump Republicans.”

“In the end, we can’t know what may have driven an agitated mind to attempt a heinous act. You don’t have to believe Routh based on what he put in his letter. He’s not exactly a reliable narrator. But you also don’t have to take the word of partisan politicians. The only thing for certain in this polarized climate is that the debate isn’t going away.”

The column said the publication compared the writing in the letter to known writing from Routh, and it appeared to be the same. His lawyers declined comment.

Khardori explained, “The day after the second attempt on his life this year, Donald Trump blamed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. ‘Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at,’ Trump said. His running mate, JD Vance, also blamed Harris and other Democrats, and the question of what motivated the alleged would-be assassin, Ryan Routh, remained a hot topic heading into Election Day.”

He said that was among the reasons he was intrigued when the four-page letter arrived.

The column explained the letter’s newsworthiness comes from its inclusion of Routh’s politics.

Khardori explains, “To hear Routh tell it, he has no particular affinity for the Democratic Party — or either major political party, for that matter.”

Routh wrote, “I am unclear how we allowed ourselves to fall into just a two-party system, but it infuriates me. My entire life has been plagued by D’s and R’s. It seems not long ago there was a push for the libertarian party and now a green party and maybe Truth party. But for some reason our leaders have not allowed any other party [to] be recognized in any race.”

He blasted “the two ruling parties” and complained about the national debt.

“We all wonder why we end up with such flawed candidates, when our system is designed to exclude most everyone,” he said.

He said he was not a Democrat, but he is a “vigorous Trump opponent.”

“He wrote his letter before the election and urged the country, in the event of a Trump victory, ‘to remove the power of our military by the President and place it with Congress before January.’ ‘We must limit all Presidential power before Trump seizes our country,’ he wrote,” the report said.

He considered a “civil war” and calls himself the Trump Alleged Shooter.

He does link himself to Matthew Crooks, who tried to assassinate Trump in July and was shot and killed by authorities, describing how both were “ready to die for freedom and democracy.”

And he demanded peace in the Middle East, attacking Israel for its defense against the terrorists in Hamas who invaded and slaughtered some 1,200 people.