With some of the roadblocks to the prosecution of the second failed would-be assassin of President Donald Trump removed, the shocking details of his plot are revealed. And for some strange reason, NBC News has still not aired any of the shocking details on their television offerings.
Here is ABC’s full report on the findings, as aired on ABC World News Tonight on Tuesday, April 8th, 2025:
DAVID MUIR: We also have new reporting tonight on the alleged assassination attempt of then-candidate Donald Trump. What the president at the president's Florida golf course on that day allegedly tried to get his hands on before that day, including anti-aircraft weapons. Here's Pierre Thomas.
PIERRE THOMAS: Tonight, months after his dramatic arrest, federal prosecutors releasing disturbing new details which they claim show Ryan Routh’s apparent obsession with assassinating President Trump. Before he allegedly stalked Trump on his Florida golf course, prosecutors say Routh, a fierce supporter of Ukraine, who had visited the war-torn country multiple times, reached out to an associate there. His request: “send me an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) or Stinger surface-to-air missile. Prosecutors claim Routh desperately wanted to blow up then-candidate Trump's plane writing: “I need equipment so that Trump cannot get elected.”
DONALD TRUMP: Take a look at what happened… (GUNFIRE)
THOMAS: The second assassination attempt coming just two months after Trump was nearly killed in Pennsylvania. Authorities in Florida say Routh waited for 12 hours in a sniper's nest just off Trump's golf course. A Secret Service agent positioned one hole ahead of the president spotting the barrel of an assault rifle in the bushes, engaging the suspect before he could take a shot at Trump. And now, the FBI says Routh could have had an even more powerful weapon, after he first tried to buy a .50 caliber rifle, capable of piercing body armor and slicing through car doors. Routh has pleaded not guilty, but the FBI says they have footage of him conducting surveillance and placing him at the scene just before the alleged attempt. David.
MUIR: All right. Pierre Thomas in Washington tonight. Pierre, thank you.
Neither CBS Evening News nor CBS Evening News Plus aired anything on Routh, but CBS News Mornings did run a very early brief the following morning:
MICHAEL GEORGE: Newsweek reports Justice Department officials claim a thwarted Trump assassin tried to buy a rocket launcher from Ukraine. Prosecutors say Ryan Wesley Routh used an encrypted messaging app to chat with someone he believed to be a Ukrainian contact with access to military-grade weapons. The 58-year-old is facing multiple federal charges after he was allegedly spotted pointing a rifle through the fence of Trump's golf club in Florida last September. Routh has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Granted, some of this is previously known information was repurposed by ABC as dramatic filler. We knew about Routh’s stakeout position, and that he had previously cased the property out. And Routh’s Ukraine obsessions were also a matter of public record. But details on the attempts to purchase an RPG and .50 caliber rifle are intriguing.
ABC said nothing on the matter, while CBS said Routh was in contact with “someone he believed to be a Ukrainian contact with access to military-grade weapons.” That language is at the very least suggestive of a sting operation. If this is the case, how was Routh still allowed to get so close to Trump? Who knew, and when did they know it?
These details and their subsequent coverage are worth watching. Or, in NBC’s case, worth airing.
