Ryan Wesley Routh has challenged Donald Trump to a golf match, requested strippers and tried to quiz potential jurors on whether they would mow down a turtle in the street.

And that is all before his trial for the attempted assassination of the US president even begins.

Mr Routh, 59, is accused of lying in wait at Mr Trump’s Florida golf club for almost 12 hours last September before a Secret Service agent patrolling the course spotted the muzzle of his rifle poking through a fence, according to court documents.

Jury selection began on Monday.

After firing his legal team in July, Mr Routh, who is not a lawyer, has opted to represent himself, writing in a letter that it is “best I walk alone” and issuing a series of bizarre filings and requests.

The trial is set to lay out the first detailed account of the alleged attempt on Mr Trump’s life, and will feature witness testimony of Mr Routh allegedly fleeing the scene, statements from those who claim to have sold him the rife and a letter purportedly from Routh confessing “this was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump”.

Mr Routh has pleaded not guilty to five charges, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and firearms offences. He faces life in prison if convicted on all counts.