Conservative media outlets are making a fuss about Ryan Routh, the 58-year-old suspect in an alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump, over making $140 worth of small political donations through ActBlue, a platform that enables contributions to Democratic candidates and causes.
According to Federal Election Commission records, Routh contributed to multiple Democratic candidates during the 2020 election cycle, including former Democratic presidential candidates Tulsi Gabbard, Andrew Yang, Tom Steyer, and Elizabeth Warren.
Those Trump-loving sources are ignoring the fact that Routh’s largest recorded contributions were earmarked for Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat who later left the party and endorsed the disgraced former president who was twice impeached, indicted four times and the first of his kind to be convicted of crimes.
Gabbard is a United States Army Reserve officer and conservative political commentator who, as the U.S. representative for Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021, was the first Samoan-American to become a voting member of Congress.
His donations to Gabbard included a $19 contribution on March 7, 2020, and several smaller contributions totaling $42 over the course of the campaign.
Additionally, he made contributions to Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign in amounts ranging from $10 to $15, and to Tom Steyer, with donations as high as $10. His donations for Elizabeth Warren’s campaign were smaller, with a single contribution of $5 on February 1, 2020.
While Routh’s financial support of Democratic candidates, especially Tulsi Gabbard, may appear at odds with his alleged involvement in a violent attack against Donald Trump, it reflects a broader trend of political volatility.
The subtotals of Ryan Wesley Routh’s contributions by recipient are as follows:
- ActBlue: $8.40
- Elizabeth Warren: $5
- Beto O’Rourke: $25
- Tom Steyer: $25
- Andrew Yang: $35
- Tulsi Gabbard: $42
As investigators continue to probe Routh’s motivations, this financial record adds another layer to his complex political affiliations. Routh’s case highlights the dangers of extremism and political instability, even among those who once supported more mainstream candidates.
Trump’s political style exhibits many of the characteristics of demagoguery, including the use of fear, division, scapegoating, and attacks on democratic institutions.
Further inquiries into his past, including any possible affiliations or grievances, are ongoing as federal prosecutors seek additional charges beyond his current firearm possession violations.
Social media posts show that Routh favored Trump in 2016 but he became disillusioned after his presidency unleashed the horrors of coronavirus, abandoned a deal to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and cozied up to dictatorial strongmen like Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
In a self-published book released in 2023 about the war in Ukraine, Routh claimed that readers were “free to assassinate Trump,” but he wrote, “No one here in the US seems to have the balls to put natural selection to work or even unnatural selection.”
In the 291-page book, titled “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War: The Fatal Flaw of Democracy, World Abandonment and the Global Citizen-Taiwan, Afghanistan, North Korea and the end of Humanity,” Routh outlined his experiences in Ukraine and gave his opinions on the conflict, American foreign policy, and the U.S. political leadership.
“I must take part of the blame for the retarded child that we elected for our next president that ended up being brainless,” Routh wrote. “But I am man enough to say that I misjudged and made a terrible mistake and Iran I apologize.”
“You are free to assassinate Trump as well as me for that error in judgment and the dismantling of the deal. No one here in the US seems to have the balls to put natural selection to work or even unnatural selection.”
The book was edited by Kathleen Shaffer, who, according to the Washington Post, lived with Routh and was reportedly his fiancée, as stated in a now-deleted 2022 GoFundMe post urging people to pledge money to support Routh’s activities in Ukraine.
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