In the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump Saturday at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a lot of questions have been asked about security at the venue. The broad outlines of that criticism can be found in Ward Clark’s Question for the Secret Service: Who Screwed Up?
While I think we had a pretty good idea of what went wrong, the more important question is why it went wrong.
The answer to some of the why questions is obvious. When you look at the terror and confusion of the US Secret Service protective detail agents trying to manage Trump’s evacuation, that is a direct outcome of the Secret Service director Kimberly Cheate’s policy of making the agency’s field agents 30% women.
Watching the ladies at work here. pic.twitter.com/ySuIw78VfR
— Sharyl Attkisson 🕵️♂️💼🥋 (@SharylAttkisson) July 14, 2024
This is Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
Instead of focusing on keeping our leaders like Trump safe, she’s more worried about diversity and hiring more women.
She should be fired and investigated immediately.
This is a national security risk.pic.twitter.com/baF4nhaI5h
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 14, 2024
BACKGROUND: About Those Female Secret Service Agents Protecting Trump
There is also the question of why the building used by the would-be assassin was left unguarded.
BACKGROUND:
Retired Army General: ‘Somebody Failed to Appreciate the Militarily Significant Aspects of Terrain’
Insane New Video Shows Trump Shooter Moving on Roof, People Pointing Him Out Before Shooting
Disturbing Questions Emerge: Secret Service Knew Rooftop Was a Vulnerability—Why Wasn’t It Protected?
WATCH: Video Shows Trump Assassination Attempt from Different Angles, Countdown From When Shooter Spotted
Just think, one Pennsyl-tucky redneck on the roof of that building with a lawn chair and a case of Yuengling would have done more to protect Trump than the Secret Service.
— streiff (@streiffredstate) July 14, 2024
The questions that can’t be fobbed off on lower-ranking folks making errors are those of resources.
🚨 (cont.) I’m told the only permanent agent from trump’s detail during the rally was SAIC (Special Agent In Charge) Kern, two sources within the Secret Service community told me. All others were temps. Pittsburgh USSS Field Office had a Jill Biden visit and designated a lot of…
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) July 14, 2024
(Cont) …”That’s nowhere near enough time – a site like that should have had at least three Secret Service counter-sniper teams at the very least.”
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) July 14, 2024
The issue of overwork is sort of baked in during campaign season. Other claims that Trump’s security detail was pillaged to provide security for Jill Biden, that more resources were requested and denied, and that the counter-sniper detail was only assigned the day before the rally, if true, are the decision of Director Cheatle, or at least had her approval. The actions are also so petty that it is easy to believe that the White House, particularly “Dr. Jill,” was behind them.
BACKGROUND
REPORTS: Trump Requested Heightened Security Resources From Secret Service for Weeks, Was Denied
Shocking Report: Secret Service Resources Diverted From PA Trump Rally to Jill Biden, More Troubling Info
To try to tamp that story down, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Majorkas addressed the subject on Monday in a softball interview with former Clinton White House muppet and current ABC News Washington Correspondent George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America.
Mayorkas: Claim that requests from Trump’s security detail for additional protective resources were rebuffed is “unequivocally false.”
Says there has been “enhanced security” for Trump since June.
He wants you to believe that Trump was injured, an innocent man died and others… pic.twitter.com/2VWD8E3SYq
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) July 15, 2024
STEPHANOPOULOS: You’ve also received a letter from the Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee that suggests your department may have quote “rebuffed” multiple requests from President Trump’s security detail to increase protective resources. How do you respond to that?
MAYORKAS: That is unequivocally false assertion. We..uh…uh…keep…uh…very close watch on a very dynamic threat environment. The present, the former president are commonly…consistently…under threat. We take every single threat seriously. We make security adjustments as are warranted. We had enhanced security for the former president beginning at least in June. We have not received any requests for additional security measures that were rebuffed. That is unequivocally false.
It is clear that Mayorkas knew the question was coming, and using the “unequivocally false” phrase as bookends to his statement shows that it had been workshopped before the interview.
It is very difficult to believe that Trump had “enhanced” security. On the other hand, the decision to add a counter-sniper team to security only 24 hours before the event does explain how the shooting happened. A shortage of personnel explains why the shooter’s vantage point was “outside the security cordon,” though not why local police did not guard it, see Concerning AP Report About Cop Confronting Trump Shooter Before Shots Fired. In the end, it comes down to credibility. Siphoning off Trump’s regular security detail to protect Dr. Jill goes a long way toward explaining the goat-rope we see as they are bundling Trump into the vehicle. The people leaking about what went on behind the scenes aren’t making excuses; they are giving reasons.
Mayorkas has a very estranged relationship with the truth, and there is no reason to believe anything he said. The surest way to tell he was lying to Stephanopoulos was to watch his face. His lips were moving.
