Trump Praises Secret Service Agent For Spotting Assassin

Former President Donald Trump provided more details about the second attempt on his life during an appearance on Fox News with Sean Hannity, praising the Secret Service agent who potentially prevented shots from being fired at him on Sunday.

Trump described the assassination attempt at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, as a “very different story” compared to the shooting incident in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. He commended the “very sharp agent” who spotted the barrel of an AK-47-style rifle sticking out from a fence about 400 yards away.

“In this particular case, you had a very sharp agent, as good as you could find, and did a fantastic job, but somebody could have missed the barrel of that rifle,” Trump said. “Somebody of lesser talents or somebody that was distracted could have missed or could have been shot, I mean, frankly, could have also been shot.”

He noted that the situation in Butler was significantly different, stating, “Somebody should have been on that building, and that’s a different story.” Trump was shot in the right ear during the Butler incident when gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks gained access to a rooftop 130 yards from him, firing eight shots that killed one rallygoer and wounded two others.

Yesterday's would-be Trump assassin was on the golf course for 12hrs before Secret Service ID'd him. The Butler shooter was on site long before he took his first shot.

This is a dangerous pattern. Secret Service needs to tell us what's going on. And what they're doing to stop it pic.twitter.com/R7hmEa9TSe

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 16, 2024

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) released a report this week detailing security failures at the Butler rally, calling the incident “the most stunning breakdown in presidential security since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.”

BREAKING: The Executive Associate Director of Homeland Security Investigations cannot answer if her agency declined to investigate would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh! pic.twitter.com/T3OsZxe0dq

— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) September 18, 2024

When Hannity asked about the Department of Homeland Security’s response to requests for more resources from the Trump campaign, Trump said, “We have long requested more people.” He emphasized that if there’s a weakness in his Secret Service protection, it’s the need for more “manpower.”

“We have tremendous rallies and crowds, and that’s a good thing, but you need more protection,” he explained. “I will say, in Butler, we wanted more protection … and we never seemed to get that.”

Following the second assassination attempt, President Joe Biden stated that the Secret Service “needs more help,” while top lawmakers called for the agency to enhance protection for Trump. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) noted, “President Trump needs the most coverage of anyone. He’s the most attacked. He’s the most threatened, even probably more than when he was in the Oval Office.”