A New York Times reporter who interviewed Routh in 2023 shares his thoughts on the suspect's alleged assassination attempt on former President Trump, revealing that he found Routh to be a "peculiar character" with a misguided determination to help Ukraine.
A New York Times reporter has recalled his encounters with the man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Trump, revealing that he initially found the suspect to be an eccentric but not necessarily dangerous individual.
NYT Reporter Reflects on Interviewing Trump Shooting Suspect
Thomas Gibbons-Neff, a foreign correspondent for the Times, said he interviewed Ryan Routh in 2023 for a story on foreign fighters and volunteers in Ukraine. Routh, a pro-Ukraine activist, had attempted to recruit Afghan soldiers who fled the Taliban to fight for Ukraine.
In an interview with MSNBC, Gibbons-Neff described Routh as a "peculiar character" but not unlike many of the other U.S. volunteers he interviewed for the story. Routh seemed "way in over his head" but also "very driven to help where he could," Gibbons-Neff said.
NYT Reporter Reflects on Interviewing Trump Shooting Suspect
The reporter also published a first-person account of the interview for the Times, detailing Routh's ambitious plans to assist Ukraine's war effort. Routh spoke of bribing corrupt officials, forging passports, and arranging military transport flights to bring Afghan refugees to Poland.
"I shook my head. It sounded ridiculous, but the tone in Mr. Routh’s voice said otherwise. He was going to back Ukraine’s war effort, no matter what," Gibbons-Neff wrote.
NYT Reporter Reflects on Interviewing Trump Shooting Suspect
On MSNBC, Gibbons-Neff described Routh's determination to help Ukraine as a reflection of the intense emotions surrounding the conflict. "You can't really underestimate Ukraine, Russia's invasion and what it's like to be there," he said. "I use the term loosely, ‘drinking the Kool-Aid,’ but he had really bought into this and this is what he was going to do."
Routh's past involvement in a militia group and his criminal record raised concerns about his stability, but Gibbons-Neff said he did not believe at the time that Routh posed a threat to others. "Honestly, his state of mind was familiar to me and reminded me of a lot of people in that sphere that were very similar," he said.
Authorities allege that Routh poked a rifle through a hole in a fence about 300 yards ahead of Trump while he was golfing at his West Palm Beach course on Sunday. Secret Service agents thwarted the assassination attempt by opening fire on the suspect. Routh fled before being arrested.
Gibbons-Neff expressed surprise at the news of Routh's alleged involvement in the assassination attempt, but he acknowledged that the suspect's determination to help Ukraine could have been misguided and ultimately dangerous. "I think he was probably well-meaning in the beginning," he said. "But at some point, he lost track of what his purpose was."
