With the recent attempts on former President Trump’s life, I wanted to know how many times assassins have attempted to kill American Presidents and failed. I knew about a few, but after digging into it, I was surprised by how many had been launched and how many had failed. I was also fascinated to study the attempts and to examine the guns used by these would-be assassins.
President Andrew Jackson
A would-be assassin did not kill President Andrew Jackson, but he survived an assassination attempt by a man named Richard Lawrence. Jackson wasn’t exactly new to being shot and had fought in 14 duels and been shot three times. Richard Lawrence might not have been a political assassin, as he was said to be a bit deranged.
He attempted to kill Andrew Jackson as he departed a funeral for a fellow politician. The man approached Jackson and attempted to fire his cap and ball derringer. The cap was fired, and the pistol was not, so he pulled another and attempted once more. Again, the weapon failed. Andrew Jackson began to beat the would-be assassin with his cane until Davy Crockett and Thomas Gedney secured the man.
The pistols were found to be in good working order, and the likelihood of both pistols misfiring was supposedly 125,000 to one.
President Theodore Roosevelt – The Bull Moose
Teddy Roosevelt seems like the most American American that’s ever Americanned. The statesman, soldier, hunter, and President was once the target of an assassin. On October 14th, 1912, he was giving a speech for a Presidential bid when John F. Schrank attempted to assassinate the man with a .38 S&W Colt Police Positive revolver from approximately six feet away.
The assassin fired one time, and the bullet went through President Roosevelt’s 50-page speech and eyeglass case and found its way into the man’s chest. Roosevelt continued to deliver his speech for the next 90 minutes, stating, “Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose.”
President Harry Truman – Two is One
On November 1st, 1950, two radical Puerto Rican nationalists stormed the Blair House President Truman resided in while the White House was being renovated. Griselio Torresola carried a Luger P.08 in 9mm, and Oscar Collazo carried a Walther P38 in 9mm. Their attack devolved into a gunfight with White House police.
One police officer was killed, and two were wounded. The PR Nationalists fired 27 shots between them. Torresola was killed, and Collazo was wounded. President Truman remained unharmed. White House police officer Private Leslie Coffelt gave his life in service to the President.
President Gerald Ford – Two, Again, But Different
Gerald Ford had an eventful September. On September 5th, a woman named Lynette Fromme drew an M1911 and aimed it at President Ford. A Secret Service agent wrestled her to the ground, and the gun was found with four rounds in the magazine but had an empty chamber. Leslie claimed she only intended to scare the President.
A few weeks later, on September 22nd, another female assassin wannabe named Sarah Jane Moore fired a single shot from an S&W Model 60 revolver. A Marine grabbed her arm and reportedly diverted the shot and prevented a secondary shot. She initially intended to use a Charter Arms Bulldog, a gun that was practiced with. However, it was taken the day before by police when she was temporarily detained.
President Ronald Reagan – Getting the Gipper
There has got to be a better way to impress Jodie Foster than shooting the President, right? John Hinckley Jr. didn’t think so, and he attempted to assassinate President Reagan with a Rohm .22LR revolver. He fired six ‘Devastator’ rounds. He wounded three, including President Reagan.
Hinckley was taken alive, and the President recovered fairly quickly. This attempt got us the famed photo of the Secret Service agent deploying the Uzi from a briefcase. John Hinckley Jr. now has a YouTube channel where he plays music, so you can see what he’s up to.
President Bill Clinton – Kind Of
It seems like it’s a bit of a hobby for people who live in D.C. to pull drive-bys on the White House. It happened to President Obama and President Bush, but they didn’t make the list because neither man was there during the attempt. President Clinton was present when assassin Francisco Duran launched his attack.
He fired 29 rounds from a Chinese SKS-D model, you know, the one that takes AK magazines. He fired at a group of individuals that he thought included President Clinton. His attack was launched from roughly 70 yards, and luckily, no one was harmed. He was tackled by three normal folks and detained.
President Trump – Another Two Timer
Even if you’ve been living under a rock, there is no way you haven’t heard that someone took a shot at President Trump on July 13th. That someone was Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old Pennsylvanian. He used an AR-15, which appeared to be a mutt of a rifle. It was a DPMS lower with what might be an Aero handguard or potentially an Aero upper. The rifle wore an AEMS red dot and Magpul furniture. His attempt failed, and he got a round to the dome piece. He managed to strike President Trump in the ear.
On September 15th, 2024, a man named Ryan Routh was spotted hiding a rifle in the Trump International Golf Club shrubbery. He was armed with a buba-fied SKS with an optic. He hid behind two backpacks full of ceramic floor tiles but was spotted before he could launch an attack. Secret Service engaged Routh, who fled but was later arrested.
The Failed Assassin
It’s interesting how fast the attempted assassinations of Presidents get forgotten. One of the Trump events is immortalized by film, and photos immortalize Reagan’s, but before researching this, I had no idea two women came at Ford or a guy with an SKS took shots at Clinton. It’s certainly an interesting and frightful trend that we hope we won’t see happen again.
