Donald Trump (78) has the right to personal protection by the Secret Service for two reasons: as an ex-president and as a recent presidential candidate. After the first assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler (Pennsylvania) by sniper Thomas Crooks, security was stepped up. But apparently not enough – as the new assassination attempt at the Trump golf course on Sunday in West Palm Beach (Florida) makes clear.
Former presidents receive the personal protection of around 30 agents for life. The number is likely to be higher for Trump, who is running for office again. The challenges of protecting the particularly vulnerable Republican in all situations are enormous: Outdoor election events, leisure time on the golf course, trips to appearances, hotels, airports or his home, sometimes spontaneous stops to greet members of the public and restaurants or stores – danger can lurk anywhere.
Glaring security gaps on display again
The security effort for Trump by the US Secret Service (USSS, 8,300 employees), founded by presidential legend Abraham Lincoln on the day of the deadly assassination attempt against him, seems considerable: Trump’s motorcade alone can consist of up to 12 vehicles, said former Secret Service agent Jonathan Wackrow. Among them: a main car, a backup vehicle, rolling command centers and even an ambulance. Blood for transfusions is kept nearby.
But there are glaring gaps, as became apparent in July in Butler and also now at the golf course. The security of the site outside the staging areas is identified as a particular weakness:
? In Butler, this had been outsourced to local police forces, with whom there were then coordination and communication problems. Shooter Crooks was therefore able to open fire from a nearby rooftop.
? On Sunday, the area outside the golf course fence was not guarded at all. The obvious Trump hater Wesley Ryan Routh, 58, was initially able to hide unnoticed in the bushes along the road in front of the “Trump International Golf Course” – with an assault rifle, scope, two backpacks, a GoPro camera and bulletproof ceramic protective plates.
When someone in the Secret Service “advance team” spotted a rifle barrel peeking through the fence, Trump was only 275 to 460 meters away on the fifth hole. “With a rifle and a scope, that’s not a great distance,” said Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.
After the second assassination attempt this summer, the same level of personal protection is once again being demanded for Trump as for US President Joe Biden (81). Former bodyguard Michael Matranga told the New York Times: “There has never been a series of attacks like this!” Trump needs increased protection.
Experts: If Biden had been playing golf there, the entire golf course would have been surrounded by security forces. Congress colleague Tim Burchett, 60, even described the bodyguard force as “compromised” because of the new lapse.
