(RightWing.org) – On Saturday, July 13, former President Donald Trump was speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania, when someone tried to assassinate him. In the days after, it was revealed that there were holes in the Secret Service’s protection detail. That revelation led to the agency’s director, Kimberly Cheatle, stepping down, though she initially refused. Trump then issued his own statement on the situation.
Secret Service Director Resigns
Following what Cheatle admitted was the “most significant operational failure” in the Secret Service’s history over the past few decades, both Democrats and Republicans were calling for her to resign. She initially stood up for herself and had the backing of not only President Joe Biden but also Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. However, the pressure became too much and she finally caved.
On Tuesday, July 23, 10 days after the assassination attempt on the former president, Cheatle emailed Secret Service employees and detailed her reasons for stepping down. In the message, which was obtained by The New York Times, she said the federal agency “fell short” of its mission to protect the country’s leaders and she didn’t want “calls for [her] resignation to be a distraction from the great work” the agents do.
After her resignation, Biden issued a statement thanking Cheatle for everything she did and for her “integrity” in “tak[ing] full responsibility for an organization tasked with one of the most challenging jobs.” He said he plans to appoint a new director to the role soon.
Trump’s Response
After receiving notice that Cheatle was resigning, Trump made his own statement. He said, “The Biden/Harris Administration did not properly protect me, and I was forced to take a bullet for Democracy.” He then added, in all caps, that it was his “great honor to do so.”
Trump also spoke with Brooke Singman, a Fox News Digital correspondent, and said the same: that Cheatle “never gave [him] proper protection.” In that same statement, he continued noting that “big improvements have been made over the last week.”
The failures of the Secret Service involved not properly cordoning off the area around the rally location. The shooter was able to climb up onto the roof of a nearby structure, which is where he fired the gun from. He used his father’s AR-15, according to media reports. The shooter was able to get eight shots off in under six seconds before the Secret Service neutralized him. One person died and two others were injured.
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