Donald Trump, a Republican running for president, is fortunate to be alive after the Secret Service pulled another bung. Security experts are warning that the agency's inexplicable mistakes are making Trump and other candidates easy targets for insane people who want to kill them.
Another gunman approached the 78-year-old former president at his Florida golf club within a few hundred yards, just sixty-seven days after a gunman nearly killed him at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania due to catastrophic errors made by the Secret Service.
This time, the federal government claims that a 58-year-old man from North Carolina named Ryan Wesley Routh was reportedly waiting for an opportunity to shoot the windy billionaire. Supposedly, Routh was concealed in a shrubbery on the public side of the fence that encircles the sixth hole of the Trump International Golf Club in posh West Palm Beach.
Routh may have succeeded, according to security experts, and altered the trajectory of American history, had a vigilant Secret Service member stationed one hole ahead of Trump's group failed to notice the AK-47-style rifle's muzzle peering through the foliage. The agent started firing, scaring Routh out of his hiding spot before he could aim at the politician, who loved golf, who was teeing off on the fifth hole, approximately 400 yards away.
Shortly after, the assailant was apprehended when he fled in a black Nissan SUV, which was located forty miles north.
“It’s really incredible that this lunatic was able to get so close to Trump on his own golf course, especially considering what just happened in Pennsylvania,” an unnamed source told GLOBE Magazine.
“Considering the fact that the would-be shooter was in the area for 12 hours leading up to the incident, the Secret Service should have been able to detect him with any one of the multiple perimeter sweeps you would expect them to perform if Trump were playing the course,” the anonymous insider added.
Because it was "not on the official schedule," the golf course was not even searched before Trump started his game on September 14, according to Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr.
“If you’re Rowe, you already know Trump is a target, so why aren’t there more agents assigned to protect him? Why aren’t there drones flying overhead? It’s inexcusable!” the unidentified insider shared.
Trump commended the Secret Service for a "great job" after the incident. Nevertheless, he did mention, "We do need more people on my detail."
Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old gunman, narrowly missed killing Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, The Hill reported. The Secret Service was implicated in that incident a little over two months ago, and the two have now run into each other.
In that instance, it took over twenty minutes for Crooks to fire his lethal round, which grazed Trump's ear, killed volunteer fireman Corey Comperatore, and wounded two others after Secret Service officials had first noticed him crouched on the roof of a police command center.
Surprisingly, forty minutes before Crooks opened fire, agents observed him suspiciously using a range finder while traversing the gathering grounds.
Critics questioned the Secret Service's capacity to safeguard candidates, former presidents, and their families after that security breach led to the resignation of Director Kimberly Cheatle, as per CNN.
“The Secret Service deserve all the scorn in the world for permitting this to happen, again. Let’s face it: Trump’s own golf course should be one of the most secure places on Earth right now, but instead some maniac was able to set up shop and linger in the area with a high-powered rifle for hours! It’s mind-boggling!” the undisclosed informant said.
Despite warnings from political scientists that our country's extreme division has created an environment conducive to violence, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are holding the Secret Service to account.
"This is getting embarrassing for the agency, and people in Congress are bewildered why we're in this situation now for a second time," Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida, a Democrat and member of the congressional task group now examining both assassination attempts, said.
Business Times has reached out to Donald Trump for comments.
