WASHINGTON — The US Secret Service on Monday pledged to cooperate with an independent review of its security arrangements after a gunman allegedly opened fire on former President Donald Trump.
The 78-year-old tycoon was wounded at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, in an attack that shocked a polarized country less than four months before the November election.
“The Secret Service is working with all federal, state and local agencies involved to understand what happened, how it happened and how we can prevent such an incident from happening again,” agency Director Kimberly Cheatle said in a statement.
“We understand the importance of the independent review announced yesterday by President (Joe) Biden and will fully participate. We will also work with the appropriate congressional committees on any oversight actions,” added Cheatle, who is supported by Biden, according to the White House.
Trump was speaking at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when multiple gunshots rang out. The terrorist attack left one person dead and two injured. The perpetrator was also killed.
He grabbed his bloodied ear. Then he climbed down as Secret Service agents climbed onto the podium, surrounded him and whisked him away to a nearby vehicle.
Under strong pressure
Biden, who is seeking re-election, has ordered a full review of security at the rallies as well as at this week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Trump will be crowned the party’s presidential nominee.
The Secret Service has been under intense pressure since Saturday. It is accused of having been able to climb onto a rooftop some 150 metres from one of the most protected political figures on the planet and point an assault rifle at him.
Especially since some people who saw the man tried to warn the security forces before he opened fire.
Cheatle said the agency is trying to tighten security at the convention, where Trump is scheduled to speak on Monday.
On Sunday, the Secret Service said it was “fully prepared” for the partisan summit.
Protection of Robert Kennedy Jr.
Biden has ordered him to “provide protection to Robert Kennedy Jr.,” the independent presidential candidate, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Monday.
Trump had made the request hours earlier “in light of what is happening in the world today,” on his Truth Social network.
Kennedy comes from America’s most famous political clan. His uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in 1963. Five years later, the candidate’s father, Robert, was shot dead in Los Angeles.
According to the Secret Service website, the agency is tasked with protecting, among others, the President of the United States, his entourage, visiting heads of state, as well as “major presidential and vice presidential candidates and their spouses within 120 days of a general presidential election.”
This year’s elections are scheduled for November 5.