Biden Administration Denying Protection Assets For Trump Forces Him To Cancel Wisconsin Rally
Former President Donald Trump was recently forced to cancel a campaign rally in Wisconsin because the federal task force in charge of safety denied him adequate protection resources.
On Tuesday, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., sent a letter to the acting director of the Secret Service detailing the allegations of a whistleblower who said the event was canceled because the nation’s premier security agency lacked “sufficient assets” to keep the Republican presidential nominee safe.
“Other whistleblowers with knowledge of Secret Service planning protocols allege that failure to provide protection for a major public event is highly unusual and that a sitting president would never be denied resources in this way,” Hawley wrote.
Wisconsin was one of several key rust belt states Trump narrowly won in 2016, and then lost by just roughly 20,000 votes in 2020. According to the latest aggregate of surveys maintained by RealClearPolitics, Harris is leading Trump by less than 1 point in the state, whereas Biden led by more than 6 points at the same point in the race.
Trump’s canceled campaign event in contrast to Vice President Kamala Harris’ ability to roam the nation safely marks just the latest double standard in the race when it comes to the candidates’ security.
After a series of agency failures opened the door to a failed assassination attempt on Trump this summer, the Republican candidate was told to no longer hold outdoor campaign events.
“The Secret Service did not return an email from The Federalist requesting comment,” Senior Elections Correspondent Matt Kittle reported. “So it’s not clear whether the agency has made the same requests of Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Trump survived another attempt on his life this month when a gunman lined up a scoped “AK-47-style rifle” within just 300 to 500 yards of the former president on his West Palm Beach golf course. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said that even two months after he was shot in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump still did not have the full protection of an incumbent president.
“At this level that he is at right now, he’s not the sitting president. If he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded. But because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible,” Bradshaw told reporters.
Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Penn., said last week the Secret Service had restored Trump’s protection to the levels they were when he was president. The Senate also sent bipartisan legislation to beef up security for major presidential candidates to the White House this week. Trump also said this week he had set a date for his triumphant return to the fair grounds where he was shot in Pennsylvania. The Republican presidential nominee will campaign there on Oct. 5, just four days after the vice presidential debate.
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