Trump Is Not the First U.S President to Survive Two Assassination Attempts

Misbar investigated the viral claim and found it to be misleading.

Trump is not the only president in U.S. history to survive two assassination attempts.

Gerald Ford Survived Two Assassination Attempts in 1975

Misbar's team found that Trump is the second U.S. president to endure two assassination attempts, following the republican president, Gerald R. Ford, who survived two attempts in California just three weeks apart in 1975.

According to the Ford Presidential Foundation, President Gerald R. Ford survived two assassination attempts within weeks of each other, on September 5 and 22, 1975. 

The first attempt occurred on Sept. 5, 1975, while Ford was in Sacramento, California, to meet with California Governor Jerry Brown. When he stopped to shake hands with a crowd gathered outside his hotel, a woman ( Lynette Fromme) attempted to shoot Ford but misfired. Two weeks later, Sara Jane Moore shot at Ford while in San Francisco, California, but missed.

Details Emerge on the Second Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump

The former president and Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, was targeted in a shooting during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, with a bullet narrowly missing his ear and causing minor injuries. On Sunday, September 15, law enforcement arrested a suspect near Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, in what seems to be an unsuccessful second assassination attempt according to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Law enforcement in Florida reported that they arrested a suspect after U.S. Secret Service agents saw him holding an assault rifle outside Trump's golf club. The suspect, identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh from Hawaii, was mentioned by several U.S. media outlets that cited unnamed law enforcement officials.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL! Nothing will slow me down. I will never Surrender!”

Historical Assassination Attempts Targeting U.S. Presidents and Candidates

Congressional Research Service reports that there have been direct attacks on presidents, presidents-elects, and candidates on at least 15 occasions. Out of the 46 presidents, including Joe Biden, 11 have faced actual or attempted assassinations, which is about 23%. Four U.S. presidents were assassinated while in office: Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy.

Four U.S. Presidents have experienced attacks: Gerald R. Ford faced two incidents in 1975, Ronald W. Reagan survived a near-fatal shooting in 1981, William J. Clinton was involved in a firing incident at the White House in 1994, and George W. Bush was targeted in 2005 when an attacker threw a non-exploding grenade at him. Additionally, two other presidents were attacked: one while campaigning in 1933 and the other as President-elect (Franklin D. Roosevelt). Theodore Roosevelt was attacked in 1912 while running for president after a four-year hiatus, and Franklin D. Roosevelt faced an attack in 1933 as President-elect. During the primaries, two former candidates suffered serious injuries: George C. Wallace was severely wounded in 1972, and Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968. Among these fifteen incidents, only the assassination of Abraham Lincoln was linked to a widespread conspiracy.

Gerald R. Ford is the only other past or present president who has faced two unsuccessful assassination attempts, both happening in California during his second year in office.

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