‘Obviously An Abysmal Failure’: Former Secret Service Agents Break Down Trump Assassination Attempt, Security Response
Former U.S. Secret Service agents Evi Pompoulos and Dan Bongino separately examined potential security lapses that they believe led to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during Saturday's campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“This is clearly an egregious failure and no one should be trying to sweep this under the rug,” Dan Bongino, former security officer for Presidents Bush and Obama and host of “The Dan Bongino Show,” said on his show Sunday. “I have a deep loyalty to my colleagues in the Secret Service. Their motto is 'Trustworthy and Dependable.' But this is an egregious failure and there are no excuses at this point.”
Bongino also questioned how the shooter managed to evade magnetic detectors designed to detect weapons and metal objects. (RELATED: FBI identifies gunman who allegedly tried to kill Donald Trump)
Agent Evi Poumpoulas, who served as security for former President Barack Obama and the first lady and is the host of “Spy Games,” said she believes the shooter was not in position until after Trump was onstage. She also said on NBC's “Today” show Sunday morning that the gunman, identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, appeared to be wearing camouflage clothing that matched the color of the roof he was positioned on.
The Secret Service quickly neutralized Crooks after the assassination attempt. according to To the New York Times.
The former agents also said the steel armor in front of the podium from which Secret Service agents quickly pulled Trump after the shooting may have saved his life.
“Guys, the armor may have saved him. If you look at what appears to be some ceremonial material on the stage, you see a red, white and blue flag-like design. That's probably the armor. It's very possible that that armor saved him,” Bongino pointed out.
Poumpoulas seemed to back up Bongino's speculation, noting that Secret Service agents went to great lengths to protect Trump.
“So if we analyze this as the shooting is happening, we hear the shots, President Trump falls and takes cover, and we also see this banner around the stage, which is most likely some sort of steel that was purposely placed in preparation for an incident like this so that the protected person can fall to the ground and take cover. We are seeing agents coming in from the side now, that's the 'shift'. That's what's called the 'shift'. They come in and are in armor. They are the ones literally coming around and securing his body,” Poumpoulas noted.
TOP SHOT – Republican candidate Donald Trump, with what appears to be blood on his face, is surrounded by Secret Service agents and escorted off the stage during a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show Co. in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. Republican candidate Donald Trump was evacuated from the stage after what sounded like a gunshot rang out during a rally in Pennsylvania today, according to AFP. The former US president was seen with blood on his right ear and was surrounded by security agents who rushed him off the stage as he was opening his rally and shouting at the crowd. Trump was forced into an SUV and driven away. Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images
Both investigators pointed out the difficulties of building a strong security force, with Poumpoulas especially highlighting the difficulty of allocating resources.
“At the end of the day, it costs resources, it costs money, it costs all of these things,” Poumpoulas points out. “So when you do this kind of security expansion, it's negotiable. So when I said, 'We need 75 agents,' the answer was, 'Look, we don't have the resources, we don't have the funds, but we need to get these people somewhere else. Can you handle X number of them?' And it's not just the Secret Service, it's law enforcement. Their resources are leveraged.
Bongino lamented the state of Trump's security force, called for a stronger one and called Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle “totally inept.”
“It's time for President Trump to be fully prepared to be president,” Bongino said. “President Trump doesn't have that. He doesn't have that now. I understand there are legal issues, but President Trump is a former president running for reelection. We essentially have two sitting presidents. Folks, President Trump doesn't have fully prepared to be president right now. That puts him at risk. His threat level is catastrophic, catastrophic. It's time for Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle to calm down and do the right thing,” Bongino concluded.
