Former President Donald Trump's campaign was forced to cancel events due to Secret Service failures before the assassination attempt on July 13, the Daily Caller reported. The campaign asked for extra protection but was routinely denied it because the agency claimed it didn't have the resources.
The world was stunned when suspected gunman Thomas Crooks shot Trump in the head at a Butler, Pennsylvania, outdoor rally. The former president was wounded in the ear, but aftermath has led to discussions about how the Secret Service and FBI failed to protect him.
Crooks was able to get off several shots despite being identified as a threat as much as an hour before pulling the trigger. Former Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned over her failures, said that nobody was on the roof where the gunman set up because it was "sloped."
Still, it now appears this was part of a larger pattern that sometimes forced Trump to cancel events and rallies. His team had asked for bomb-sniffing canines, specialty teams, and magnetometers but were routinely turned down due to lack of funding.
The Secret Service received news of credible threats against Trump's life just days before Crooks would open fire on Trump. Just ahead of a Doral, Florida, rally, the agency shared the information with the campaign, the Washington Post reported.
"The bad guys are at it again," an adviser recalled the Secret Service telling them. The Justice Department got involved and Trump received more protection than he normally would, and for good reason.
It was not long after that the FBI arrested a Pakistani national in a sting operation as the person was planning a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by Iran. Still, it didn't stop Crooks, who has no known connection to any government or plot, from taking his shot at the former president.
Cheatle would mostly blame local law enforcement for the oversights that led to the shooting, but it's clear that the Secret Service wasn't up to the task despite the known threats. It plays into a broader debate about whether the agency is competent and properly equipped to do its job.
Notably, the agency has increased security for Trump since the shooting, including the use of bulletproof glass at his rallies. However, until the Secret Service takes full responsibility, the issues that led to this assassination attempt can't be properly addressed.
The Secret Service claims that it has difficulty doing its job because of the unique risks involved in protecting Trump. The former president likes to spend time at his golf courses, including his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, that doubles as a resort.
Trump likes to dine with customers and be among those who frequent his establishments. This presents a problem as those coming and going are not screened, and just about anyone can approach Trump.
One person who played at Trump's club in 2023 was surprised at how easy it was to get near the former president. "We were totally shocked we could just walk in the bar and sit down right next to him," the patron said.
"We didn’t go through mags; we didn’t do anything. We just finished our round, walked right over, sat next to him in the clubhouse, and had lunch. You could just walk over to his table. It was pretty surprising to all of us," the person recalled.
Protecting Trump is fraught with challenges, but the Secret Service should be able to overcome them. At the very least, the agency could have provided the extra measures Trump's team requested for his rallies. Had they done so, perhaps Crooks would have been stopped long before he ever made it to that roof.
