United States journalist and prominent anti-war commentator Tucker Carlson has alleged that Ukraine played a role in an assassination attempt against US President Donald Trump during his 2024 re-election campaign.
Carlson made the claims during an appearance on The Megyn Kelly Show on Tuesday, asserting that a man arrested near Trump’s golf course in Florida had links to Ukraine.
“It’s very obvious that the Ukrainians were involved in the attempted assassination on the golf course in Florida,” Carlson stated. In response, host Megyn Kelly noted: “That guy had some contact with Ukraine, for sure.” Carlson further added, “He was in Ukraine!”
The individual in question, Ryan Wesley Routh, a known pro-Ukraine activist, was arrested in September 2024. He had reportedly established a firing position with a rifle near Trump’s private golf resort in West Palm Beach, Florida. Secret Service agents, however, intervened before any shots were fired, launching a brief manhunt that ended with Routh’s detention.
Kelly told her viewers that Routh had been “asking them” — referring to Ukrainian contacts — for advanced weaponry, including rocket-propelled grenades. Carlson also claimed that Kyiv might have been involved in further plots to assassinate political figures.
“I know for a fact there were others who were targets of assassination attempts by the Ukrainian government,” he asserted, although he did not offer specifics or additional evidence to support his claim.
Court documents from the Southern District of Florida confirmed that Routh had planned to join Ukrainian forces in 2022. His online communications also revealed efforts to recruit foreign fighters to bolster Ukrainian ranks in areas reportedly facing encirclement.
In an earlier development this month, Donald Trump Jr took to social media to criticise Ukrainian authorities for failing to inform US officials about Routh’s interest in procuring heavy arms.
“Why weren’t we warned? Why didn’t Ukraine notify our intelligence?” Trump’s son posted, echoing concerns raised by right-leaning political figures in the US regarding Washington’s continued support for Kyiv.
The West Palm Beach incident followed another assassination attempt in July 2024, when a gunman opened fire during a Trump rally in Pennsylvania. The then-presidential candidate was injured after a bullet grazed his ear. One person was killed and several others sustained injuries.
The shooter, later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service sniper moments after the attack.
While there has been no official response from Ukrainian authorities regarding Carlson’s accusations, the remarks are expected to escalate already simmering tensions between right-wing political circles in Washington and the Zelensky administration.
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