Trump describes the moment he was dragged off the golf course

Former President Donald Trump reported hearing gunshots as Secret Service agents foiled a suspected assassination attempt on him at his Florida golf club and praised the agency for its “excellent job” in ensuring his safety.

Trump spoke at length about the events on Sunday during a cryptocurrency event on X (formerly Twitter).

“I was playing golf with some of my friends … very peaceful, very nice weather,” Trump recalled. “All of a sudden we heard shots in the air, I guess four or five, and it sounded like bullets. But what do I know about that?”

“The Secret Service did a great job of putting the man behind bars. Hopefully he'll stay there for a long time,” Trump said earlier in the interview. “A dangerous person. A very, very dangerous person.”

He further joked that he would have “loved to sink the last putt” before he was dragged off the course.

The FBI said a Secret Service agent shot a man hiding in the bushes surrounding Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, about 500 yards up the golf course where the former president was playing. The agent reported seeing the muzzle of an AK-style weapon sticking out from the green.

The suspect, identified as 58-year-old Ryan Routh, fled the scene without firing a single shot. He was later arrested in a neighboring county. He has since been charged in federal court with two counts: possession of a firearm as a felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

Officials said Monday the man never had his eyes on the former president and praised Secret Service protocol to protect the president. But it remains unclear how the man was able to get close enough to threaten Trump, even after the Republican presidential candidate survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, two months ago.

Trump said Monday he spoke to President Joe Biden on the phone and called him “very nice,” adding that he believes he needs more people for his security forces.

But during the cryptocurrency event, the former president again blamed Democrats for the apparent attempt on his life.

“There's a lot of rhetoric, a lot of people think of the Democrats when they talk about a 'threat to democracy' and things like that,” Trump said, referring to statements by the left that Trump's candidacy is a danger to the nation.

The former president had previously told Fox News that the left's rhetoric was the reason “I came under fire,” but he did not mention his own constant attacks on Biden and his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, during the campaign.