Trump Responds to New Threat Against His Life

Former President Donald Trump addressed reports of a recent death threat made against him by an Arizona man during his visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, a key battleground state, on Thursday.

During a press conference in Cochise County, a reporter asked Trump, “There’s a manhunt going on in this county… Somebody made death threats to you. Did you hear about that before coming? What are your thoughts about coming down here? Some people told me it’s dangerous for you to be here.”

Trump responded by noting that he had not been briefed on the threat beforehand, saying, “I’ve heard it’s dangerous but I also have a job to do. I heard it’s very dangerous. I haven’t heard about that, they probably want to keep it from me, thank you for telling me.”

He then humorously added, “Let’s get outta here right now!”

Trump continued, expressing his “great respect” for the Secret Service, although he hinted at a recent lapse in security. He referenced an incident from last month where a rooftop near a rally he was speaking at was left unguarded, leading to an attempted assassination. Trump narrowly escaped when 20-year-old gunman Thomas Crooks fired at him, grazing his right ear. The attack resulted in one death and two injuries among the audience.

The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office apprehended Ronald Lee Syvrud after an intense manhunt in Arizona. Syvrud, a convicted sex offender, allegedly made the threats against Trump.

According to Sheriff Mark Dannels, Syvrud is wanted on several outstanding warrants, including a DUI in Wisconsin and a hit-and-run in Arizona. Additionally, he faces charges for failing to register as a sex offender.

Syvrud was convicted of second-degree sexual assault of a minor on April 6, 2001, and has been on Wisconsin’s sex offender registry since, with a lifetime registration under various aliases.

Sheriff Dannels stated, “Public Safety consideration: Syvrud is being sought as an investigative lead for threats to kill a presidential candidate.”

While at the border, Trump took the opportunity to criticize the current administration’s handling of border security, recalling that he left Joe Biden and Kamala Harris with the “strongest border” in U.S. history.

“When I left office, I gave Kamala Harris the strongest and most secure border in American history. These people have done an incredible job. They worked with lots of others. And if you came here illegally, you got caught and you were deported or put in jail, depending on what. In some cases, we put them in jail because we didn’t want, they were so violent, we didn’t want to take a chance that they’d come back,” Trump remarked.

He further elaborated, “But generally, they were deported. And brought into countries that wouldn’t accept them before me. With me, they accepted them. They wouldn’t take him back, but with me they accepted them. I said, you’re going to have a lot of problems if you don’t. We ended catch and release. We had Remain in Mexico. The greatest possible — Remain in Mexico.”

“How good was that? Everybody remained in Mexico until they were checked out and either they came in or not. Most of them didn’t qualify. Title 42, safe third agreements. And 500 miles of border wall that was very, very difficult to even think about getting over, around or under. The final gaps of the wall were about to be sealed. Then Kamala came in and dismantled every single Trump border policy and halted all wall construction,” Trump added.