A golfing partner of Donald Trump has described the dramatic moment he heard gunshots and saw Secret Service agents swoop on the former president during the apparent assassination attempt at his Florida golf course on Sunday.
Businessman Steve Witkoff, a longtime Trump friend and political donor, told NBC News on Tuesday that he knew immediately that a series of loud “pops” were gunshots, and praised the Secret Service for its quick response in getting Trump off the golf course in less than 20 seconds.
A suspect, Ryan Routh, was charged Monday night with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Routh hid in the bushes for 12 hours and pointed a semi-automatic weapon at Trump from about a quarter-mile away, authorities said.
Trump had “a guy following right behind him, but he also had people perched next to him. The whole team was all on him except for the snipers,” Witkoff told NBC’s “TODAY” show.
“The snipers split up and came within three meters of me, set up their tripods and aimed exactly where the shots were coming from.”
Trump then made sure everyone present was OK, Witkoff said, including other friends who were along the route and Secret Service agents.
Pressure on the U.S. Secret Service has increased further after Sunday’s incident, just over two months after a gunman opened fire on the former president at a rally in Pennsylvania. Witkoff said Trump has confidence in and respect for the U.S. Secret Service.
But he added: “Does he think it’s possible that mistakes were made along the way? Well, I mean, yes, mistakes could have been made, and in that case, lives could have been lost because of that, because of a mistake.”
Witkoff said he wasn’t sure Trump would stop playing golf after his arrest Sunday. “He’s a tough guy to stress out about. You know, golf is a great game for him. He slows down on the course. It’s a happy place for him,” he said.
He added that Trump had no obligation to tone down his fiery language in light of the second apparent assassination attempt on him in the past 10 weeks. On Monday, Trump accused President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of using the language that led to the two assassination attempts on him. The pair have taken “politics in our country to a whole new level of hate,” Trump said.
“I mean, he feels like his political beliefs are very left-wing. He feels like it reminds him of Marxist ideology,” Witkoff said.
“He’s simply telling the American public how he views people who believe in much bigger government, very high taxes, environmentalism, the New Deal, DEI, and all the rest of it.”
