Ground Game: An apparent assassination attempt on Trump

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Plus, 5 things to know about the apparent assassination attempt, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stumps for Trump{beacon}

By Meg Kinnard

September 16, 2024 08:05:00 AM

By Meg Kinnard

September 16, 2024 08:05:00 AM

  

A second apparent assassination on former President Donald Trump — this time as he played golf in Florida — has rocked a presidential campaign already marred by unprecedented violence and raised questions about how such a thing could have happened for the second time in as many months.

Welcome to this week’s edition of AP Ground Game.

 

THE HEADLINES

Sheriff vehicles are pictured near Trump International Golf Club, Sunday. Sept. 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla., after gunshots were reported in the vicinity of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Stephany Matat)

New questions on how another apparent assassination attempt could have happened

U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire Sunday afternoon on a man who was spotted pointing an AK-style rifle through a fence while hiding in the bushes as Trump golfed at his club in West Palm Beach, Florida. The FBI described the incident as an apparent attempted assassination on the GOP nominee.

The incident — just two months after a deadly shooting at a Pennsylvania rally — raised immediate questions about how Trump could have been left vulnerable to yet another attack. In July, he was grazed in the ear by a bullet when a gunman gained access to an unsecured roof, unleashing a hail of bullets that left one of Trump's supporters dead and two others badly injured.

While the Secret Service has grappled