(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Ryan Routh, the man who allegedly tried assassinating President Donald Trump at his Palm Beach golf course last September, is set to stand trial next week. But he apparently wants trial by combat—or, failing that, a game of golf.
In an unhinged motion to Judge Aileen Cannon, Routh, who is representing himself, said Tuesday that he’d like to fight Trump.
“I think a beatdown session would be more fun and entertaining for everyone,” he said. “Give me shackles and cuffs and let the old fat man give it his worst.”
Routh’s bizarre motion also challenged Trump to a game of golf.
“A round of golf with the racist pig. He wins he can execute me,” he said. “I win I get his job (sorry hillbilly Vance).”
Ryan Routh just filed an unhinged motion, in which he challenges Trump to a fight. "Give me shackles and cuffs and let the old fat man give it his worst."
Then he asks for strippers before challenging Trump to golf. "He wins he can execute me. I win I get his job." pic.twitter.com/kymSjPtrcd— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) September 2, 2025
To any reasonable observer, Routh’s latest motion raises questions about his competency to stand trial. However, two doctors have deemed him fit to proceed.
“Drs. Buigas and Holmes conducted psychological evaluations of Defendant; Dr. Buigas completed a competency evaluation in February 2025, concluding that Defendant was competent to proceed and not eligible for an insanity defense; Dr. Holmes completed an evaluation for potential sentencing purposes in July 2025, finding Defendant competent to proceed and ineligible for an insanity or diminished capacity defense,” Judge Cannon said in an order last week.
“Beyond these top-line conclusions, Dr. Holmes’s report states that Defendant meets the criteria for ‘a narcissistic personality disorder,’ while Dr. Buigas more broadly concludes that Defendant has ‘mixed personality features including schizotypal, narcissistic, and antisocial features.’ The Court considered Dr. Buigas’s evaluation in determining whether Defendant’s waiver of appointed counsel was both knowing and voluntary.”
Routh’s lawyers, which he recently fired, initially contemplated an insanity defense, but they later decided against that.
Jury selection begins on Monday.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
