Here’s What Donald Trump Told J.D. Vance Minutes After His Second Assassination Attempt

Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of gun violence that some readers may find distressing.

Ohio Senator and Republican VP pick, J.D. Vance, recently spilled the beans on what Donald Trump told him about the second attempt on his life. The former president allegedly called him 10 minutes after Secret Service agents saw an AK-47 rifle pointed at him at the West Palm Beach golf club. Vance informed the Georgia crowd at a Faith and Freedom Coalition rally that the phone had rung when he was at home in Cincinnati with his children.

As per the New York Post, Vance said, "[Trump] says, ‘JD, you’re not going to believe this, but they tried to do it again.’ I said, ‘No, you’re joshing me. But, what’s going on here, sir?" Trump informed Vance he was playing golf when the Secret Service spotted the assailant. Vance recalled that the ex-president assured him that he was okay but was 'pissed off' because he couldn't complete his birdie putt.

On Tuesday, Vance went on to accuse almost every one of fueling the vitriol that led to the second attempt on Trump's life. The VP candidate leveled accusations at the media, Kamala Harris, and other Democrats, arguing that they were placing a 'giant target on Donald Trump's back.' As per the Daily Beast, he said, "It’s time to say to the Democrats, to the media, to everybody who’s been attacking this man and trying to censor this man for going on 10 years now, 'Cut it out or you’re going to get somebody killed.'" He asserted, "Don't lecture Donald Trump about softening his rhetoric after two people tried to kill him." 

The attack on Trump, on Sunday, comes only three months after an attempt by a lone shooter in July, at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. During a live stream on X on Monday, Trump narrated the harrowing incident. As reported by Time, Trump said, "Everything was beautiful, nice place to be, and all of a sudden we heard shots being fired in the air. Secret Service knew immediately it was bullets. We got into the carts and we moved along pretty good. I was with an agent and the agent did a fantastic job, there was no question that we were off that course. The Secret Service did a great job, everybody did a great job."

Fortunately, Trump escaped uninjured. Authorities charged a fleeing suspect with two felonies involving firearms. The suspect, 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh of Hawaii, was once a Trump supporter and fiercely advocated for Ukraine's defense in its conflict with Russia, according to federal officials. Routh according to reports had several run-ins with the law in the past. He allegedly waited for over 12 hours to get a clear shot at Trump but was spotted hiding in the bushes before he could carry out his heinous plans. 

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