Recently, former President Donald Trump stated that he did not receive any warnings from the U.S. Secret Service before the attempted assassination incident at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
During an interview with Fox News, Trump said, “No one mentioned it, and no one said there was a problem.”
He added, “(They) could have said, ‘Let’s wait 15, 20 minutes, 5 minutes.’ No one said… I think that was a mistake.”
Trump also questioned how the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, managed to get onto the rooftop, asking, “How did someone get on the roof? Why wasn’t it reported?”
Last Saturday, Trump and his running mate, vice presidential candidate JD Vance, attended a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, marking his first appearance at a rally following the attempted assassination incident in Butler, Pennsylvania, a week earlier.
Unlike previous outdoor venues, this event took place indoors at the Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand Rapids, which can accommodate up to 12,000 people.
At the rally last Saturday, Trump once again honored firefighter Corey Comperatore, who died while shielding his wife and daughter from gunfire during the assassination attempt. Trump said, “He shielded his wife and daughter, shielded them from this… this terrible person’s bullets. Corey is a hero, and we will always remember him.”
According to reports quoting informed sources from the Associated Press, Trump was unable to attend Corey’s funeral last Friday due to security concerns by the Secret Service.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Secret Service acknowledged rejecting some of the security enhancement requests made by Trump’s campaign team during the event.
According to The Washington Post, senior Secret Service officials refused multiple requests from Trump’s security team to increase manpower and equipment at the event prior to the attempted assassination on July 13.
The report cited anonymous officials who said the Secret Service, responsible for protecting Trump, rejected these requests citing a lack of resources.
The Secret Service stated in a release that when unable to meet such requests, they rely on “state or local partners” to fill the gap.
On Monday, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee regarding the attempted assassination on Trump. She admitted during the hearing that the Secret Service “failed” in its mission to protect Trump.
On July 13, during a Trump campaign rally, a gunman attempted to assassinate Trump by shooting at his head, but Trump miraculously survived with a bullet grazing his right ear, causing minor injury. The assassination attempt that day left one person dead, two critically injured, and the gunman shot dead on the spot.
Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee Mark Green demanded Cheatle’s resignation on Sunday, a day before her testimony to Congress. Green believed that in light of the recent assassination attempt on Trump, Cheatle “should not continue in her position.”