A suspected assassin waited for Donald Trump in a bush for almost twelve hours. Is the former president too spontaneous for his bodyguards?
It is the second alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump within two months – and another setback for the Secret Service. The security service for current and former US presidents is under criticism after the shooting at Trump’s golf course in Florida on Sunday. Now the head of the agency has also admitted mistakes.
Ronald L. Rowe said, according to the New York Times, that the bodyguards had failed to search the golf course in West Palm Beach completely before Trump’s visit. However, Rowe rejected criticism of his officers, saying that they had acted quickly and decisively when they discovered the suspected assassin.
According to the FBI, 58-year-old Ryan R. waited for almost twelve hours in a bush outside the fence of the golf course, armed with an AK-47 machine gun. Trump’s bodyguards finally saw the gun barrel sticking out of the bushes and immediately opened fire on the man, who was initially able to flee and was caught shortly afterwards. According to the Secret Service, there was no immediate danger to Trump because the shooter did not have a clear view of him.
However, after the comments by Secret Service chief Rowe, it remained unclear why his officers had not searched the golf course. According to the New York Times, there may simply not have been enough time to do so, as Trump’s trip to the golf course was a spontaneous action and not part of the ex-president’s official schedule. “He really shouldn’t have been there,” the newspaper quoted the agency chief as saying.
However, the agency has less money available to protect former officials than it does for sitting presidents. Now Rowe is demanding more money from the US Congress to better equip the nearly 160-year-old Secret Service and adapt it to an “increasingly threatening political climate”. US President Joe Biden supports the initiative and has called on Congress to increase the Secret Service’s funding.
Trump blamed the US Democrats for the new attempted attack on him. The rhetoric of President Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris had led the suspected assassin to his actions, Trump said. Biden spoke to Trump on the phone after the incident. In the “friendly conversation” he expressed his relief that Trump was safe, the White House said. Trump thanked them for the call.
Two months ago, the 78-year-old was assassinated at a Trump campaign event. He was slightly injured in the ear by a gunman.
