West Palm Beach (United States) (AFP) - The embattled US Secret Service on Monday defended its role a day after a gunman managed to lie in wait for Donald Trump, as another apparent assassination attempt heightened fears of election violence.

The suspected gunman did not have a line of sight on the former president and failed to fire a shot before he was discovered by agents, according to the Secret Service, which insisted it provided the “highest level” of protection for Trump.

As security officials revealed new details, including their belief the suspect acted alone, Trump sought to blame election rival Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden for Sunday’s scare, citing their “rhetoric” about him endangering democracy.

Trump’s politicization of the incident, in which a man allegedly planned to fire on him while Trump played golf in Florida, further stoked tensions ahead of the presidential election in seven weeks.

Both Biden and Harris have denounced the apparent assassination bid, with Biden saying: “I’ve always condemned political violence. I always will.”

Biden also telephoned Trump “and conveyed his relief that he is safe,” the White House said, adding the two men had “a cordial conversation.”

- 12 hours -

The suspect, identified by police as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, was arrested soon after being spotted while hiding with an assault-style rifle at the edge of Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach.

He “did not fire or get off any shots at our agent,” Secret Service acting director Ronald Rowe told reporters.

Agents opened fire at the suspect and he fled before surrendering without a struggle. Trump was unharmed.

Routh appeared Monday in court where he was charged with illegal firearms possession. He appeared calm and did not speak, other than to say “yes” to questions from the judge.

According to an FBI criminal complaint, Routh seems to have spent nearly 12 hours on the perimeter of the course, based on cell phone records.

On July 13, Trump was wounded in the ear during a shooting at a Pennsylvania rally, where a supporter in the crowd was killed before the gunman was shot dead by return fire.

Trump told Fox News Digital that rhetoric from Biden and Harris “is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country.”

Biden and Harris have described the former president as a danger over his refusal to concede defeat to Biden in 2020 and his campaign to classify the mob of his supporters that stormed the US Capitol in 2021 as political dissidents.

Trump – whose election campaign is built on dark warnings about immigrant “invasion” and claims that the United States is a “failing nation” – said his opponents “use highly inflammatory language.”

“I can use it too – far better than they can – but I don’t,” he claimed.

- Election tensions -

Ahead of voting on November 5, the Secret Service chief spoke of the “heightened and dynamic threat environment” facing candidates and security officials.

Pressed on why Routh was able to get to the club border as Trump played golf, Rowe stressed it was an “off-the-record movement” by Trump, and that the Secret Service had increased protection for him following the July assassination attempt.

As a major party candidate and former president, Trump has a sizeable security detail but smaller than that of a sitting president.

At the White House earlier Monday, Biden told reporters the Secret Service “needs more help.”

The agency came under severe criticism after the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, in which the gunman was able to climb onto a roof overlooking Trump’s rally.

Sunday’s would-be attacker has a lengthy criminal record, and was obsessed with the Ukrainian cause. He traveled to Ukraine, claiming he wanted to volunteer and was recruiting foreign fighters to help repel Russia’s invasion.

His social media presence indicates a variety of political affiliations. Data from North Carolina shows he is registered as an independent voter.

The latest twist follows days of tension in the Ohio town of Springfield resulting from conspiracy theories stoked by Trump and running mate J.D. Vance about the local Haitian immigrant community eating pets.

Polls are tight, and there are concerns that Trump will again refuse to concede if he loses to Harris, potentially leading to widespread violence.