Former President Donald Trump claimed last Sunday (September 15) that he was the target of a blatant assassination attempt, attributing it to the inflammatory rhetoric of Democrats.
However, historical records show that assassination threats are closely related to the presidential positions he has held in the past and is currently seeking to regain, and the frequency of such incidents far exceeds common knowledge.
Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) is a widely used database research tool established in the 1980s by the Newhouse School and the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, both part of Syracuse University. As a data collection, research, and distribution institution, TRAC provides comprehensive information on the allocation, expenditure, and enforcement activities of federal government personnel to oversight entities such as Congress, news organizations, public interest groups, businesses, scholars, and lawyers.
TRAC’s data is obtained from government sources under the Freedom of Information Act and through court litigation.
Research based on TRAC data reveals that since Ronald Reagan assumed office in 1986, the federal government has prosecuted a total of 1444 cases involving threats against the president or designated presidential successors.
The highest number of prosecutions occurred in 1987 during Reagan’s presidency, with a total of 73 cases. Data from TRAC shows that there were 72 cases during George W. Bush’s tenure in 2002. The Bush administration saw the highest number of cases during its eight years in office, totaling 383, a time marked by the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and heightened tensions. During Bill Clinton’s presidency, prosecutors brought 343 cases. There were 213 cases initiated during each of Barack Obama’s two terms. In Trump’s first term, there were 68 cases. In the final three years of Reagan’s presidency, there were 200 cases, and during George H. W. Bush’s term, there were 213 cases.
During the terms of George W. Bush and Clinton, the highest number of convictions was recorded.
As a former president and presidential candidate, Trump falls into multiple categories, as there are different regulations concerning threats or attacks on presidents and presidential candidates.
Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old who attempted to assassinate Trump last Sunday, has been charged with illegally possessing firearms, despite previous convictions for serious crimes. He is also charged with possession of a firearm with erased serial numbers and may face additional charges.
Authorities are still investigating Routh’s potential motives and actions in the days and weeks leading up to the incident on that Sunday. Trump was playing golf at the West Palm Beach Golf Club when his Secret Service detail discovered a gun hidden in the bushes, prompting them to open fire. Routh fled in an SUV, leaving behind a digital camera, a backpack, an SKS-style rifle loaded with bullets, and a plastic bag of food.
The unique aspect of the assassination attempt on Trump is that he is a former president seeking re-election, and he has survived two failed assassination attempts thus far.
However, he is not the only former president who has survived an assassination attempt and sought re-election. In 1912, Teddy Roosevelt, as a former president, ran for president in Wisconsin and was shot in the chest during a campaign event in Milwaukee.
Historian David Head from the University of Central Florida in Orlando stated, “This is not unprecedented; people often forget that violence has been present in America for a long time.”
However, some noteworthy cases are not included in TRAC’s data, such as Reagan being seriously injured in 1982; President Gerald Ford being targeted twice within 17 days in 1975; and an incident in 2005 when George W. Bush, along with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, had a hand grenade thrown into their room in Tbilisi, Georgia, which did not explode.
On October 29, 1994, while at the White House, 26-year-old Francisco Martin Duran fired about 20 shots towards the building from the outside. Although no one was injured, Duran was convicted for attempted assassination of the president and sentenced to 40 years in prison. According to the Bureau of Prisons website, he is currently incarcerated in a federal prison in Virginia and will be eligible for release in 2029.
Earlier this year, a New Hampshire man charged with threatening a Republican candidate was found dead during the jury deliberation of his case.
(Adapted from the Associated Press report)