(The Center Square) – U.S. lawmakers are calling for changes in how the U.S. Secret Service protects former President Donald Trump after a second assassination attempt Sunday.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was able to hide outside a golf course where Trump was golfing. Authorities say Routh pointed the barrel of an assault-style rifle through a chain-link fence toward the golf course, was spotted by an agent, who fired at Routh. The suspect was soon arrested after fleeing the scene.
Routh reportedly waited for 12 hours outside the golf course but was only spotted just in time, raising ongoing concerns about the Secret Service’s work and Trump’s safety.
“If Trump had a full USSS security detail following J13, the shooter at Mar-a-Lago wouldn’t have gone unnoticed for 12 hours,” U.S. Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, one of several lawmakers to call for an increase to Trump’s security detail.
The near-miss encounter comes just two months after Trump was nearly fatally shot July 13 in Butler County, Pennsylvania, when a shooter was able to get on a rooftop overlooking the former president’s position and fired several shots. Trump was grazed in his ear, one rally attendee was killed and two others were wounded. The Secret Service’s handling of that incident – from allowing the shooter to get a direct line of sight to the poor pre-planning to the nearly nonexistent communication with local officers – was widely criticized across the political spectrum and led to the resignation of the agency’s head.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., called for Trump to receive the same protection as President Joe Biden, given the circumstances.
“While we are still awaiting more details about this horrific event, I am thankful that the perpetrator was unsuccessful and the Secret Service agent acted swiftly to ensure that the former president is safe,” Blackburn said in a statement. “But one thing is abundantly clear: within the span of a mere two months, there have been two assassination attempts against a major presidential candidate and former president in the United States of America. It is unfathomable and unacceptable that this incident occurred.”
A coalition of Senators sent a letter to Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe calling on him to allocate more resources to Trump.
Previous Trump requests for more security have reportedly been rejected.
Since Trump is not currently president, he does not receive as large of a team of agents as Biden. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told Congress after the first assassination attempt that Trump’s threat-level status would be increased.
Security experts have echoed that concern. Chris Ragone, owner of Virginia-based Executive Security Concepts who has worked with the Secret Service on presidential security in the past, told The Center Square that if a full presidential-level team of Secret Service agents had been assigned to Trump, they would have found the suspect much faster.
“If they were taking this threat serious… the entire perimeter should have been checked, and they would have found this guy,” Ragone told The Center Square. “You know, if he had parked his car 30 minutes before and got out, OK, but we now know that guy was there for 12 hours, which means there were no resources that checked that entire perimeter. And that’s always the first thing we do is check a perimeter and lock it down.
“I think it wasn’t noticed it because it was a manpower issue,” he added.
As The Center Square previously reported, President Joe Biden told reporters that the U.S. Secret Service “needs more help” though he failed to give specifics when asked.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called on Vice President Kamala Harris to support presidential-level security for Trump as well.
“Two attempted assassinations in 64 days, two failures by Secret Service for having woefully insufficient personnel,” Cruz said on his show, “The Verdict” Monday. “If President Trump wins in November, less than two months away, he will instantly get full presidential Secret Service protection on Election Day. Given that fact, and given the threats and the failures we have seen, the only reasonable and rational thing to do is assign President Trump right now, a full presidential detail that includes the perimeter coverage so that you can’t get a sniper that close, and if Joe Biden doesn’t do it, and by the way, if Kamala Harris had any sense at all, she would join in the call to do this.”
The scary part is that Joe and the Democrat’s idea of getting rid of a problem or incompetent, perhaps even smart but corrupted, is when caught in calamitous corruption, they just get promoted to an even higher position in government, or in some private company they have by the throat to control their profits or loss, in inane environmental regulations that they can choose to enforce ,,,OR NOT ENFORCE, to their political party’s benefit, just like what they have done for four years on our border. Nobody ever gets fired, fined, or jailed with perhaps assassination attempts the exception, but usually those perpetrator useful idiots are setup to get whacked in the assassination attempt to keep the corruption covered up. This latest attempt where the perpetrator survived, will probably end up with a Jack Ruby JFK solution before the stooge can talk and reveal who is unworthy and evil to serve a once great American nation. If I were Trump the last thing I would want is the same protection Joe gets, because had he not self-eliminated himself from the election, he also would have become a target of Democrat party convenience to get eliminated by any and all means and opportunity. Joe cowardly caved and quit, Trump just thumbs his nose at them, but should buy additional protection for himself.
Exactly. IF THIS Was a private firm, they’d be gong bankrupt.
BUT BECAUSE ITS unca govt, folks just get “Reassigned”.
“Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told Congress after the first assassination attempt that Trump’s threat-level status would be increased.”
I remember my union days when I held a position that, according to their by-laws required Journeyman pay. The union agreed to let management simply change the job title. It was a nice long title, all caps. It had no effect on my income.
“Now, then. How’s THAT!”
I suppose President Donald J. Trump will be granted a big fat “V.” in front of the “I.P.” with no other change in security details.
“Serious questions deserve to be asked about the Secret Service, FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security. Trump can clean out the deep state, and the deep state knows it.”
The traitorous, power obsessed deep state is deadly scared of Donald Trump because they do not control his patriotic policies and agendas.
The treasonous puppet Joe Biden and treasonous puppet Kamala Harris are ideal servants of the traitorous, destructive deep state dictatorship.
This is exactly why the treasonous, destructive deep state has been trying to destroy Donald Trump. From the Democrat Party’s orchestrate and fabricated russian collusion accusations by the Hil-Liar-ly Clinton champaign, the impeachment charges by the Democrats during President Trump’s time serving as President, the kangaroo court court circus of the January 6 commision, the orchestrate and fabricated legal charges and the kangaroo court court circus trials. Now that all of the efforts of the treasonous Democrat Party to try to destroy Donald Trump have failed, the Democrats have now reverted to trying to Kill Donald Trump.
There MAY BE reforms needed in the Secret Service! But the MOST EFFECTIVE REFORM would be Donald Trump NOT saying whatever he wants to and using INFLAMMITORY LANGUAGE PROMOTING Groundless theories!
There’s a cartoon on this very site that refers to this topic.
I believe their point is that the Left is the party making the references to a violent solution to their Trump Derangement Syndrome.
We all hate those stupid conspiracy theories like: Russian Dossier, Hunter laptop, Hillary’s unlawful server, Trump told Putin to do whatever he wanted, Springfield Haitians run amok…
Dave, what ‘inflammatory language’ has he used, that would justify someone trying to kill him??
Not much they can change. Candidate would do well to be mindful of the dangers.
They could stop denying increased coverage.
Ahh,victim blaming… Guess that’s now ok.