After Trump's Second Assassination Bid Secret Service Director Defends the Agency's Security Measures

Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of gun violence that some readers may find distressing.

US Secret Service has made a big admission amid the unexpected second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. The Secret Service director, Ronald Rowe accepted that they need to rejig the approach of protecting the Presidents in a more holistic manner taking into consideration the Palm Beach Golf course shooting incident. Ronald Rowe said that because Donald Trump's visit was part of his "off-the-record" plan, agency officers did not investigate the perimeter of the Republican presidential candidate's Florida golf course, where the alleged assassin was hiding.

"Coming out of Butler, I have ordered a paradigm shift. The Secret Service's protective methodologies work and they are sound, and we saw that yesterday," Rowe said as he addressed the second attempt of assassination of the Republican nominee for the upcoming presidential elections. According to NBC News, he added, "We need to get out of a reactive model, and get to a readiness model." The details were not explored by the director, however, it is clear that the recent incident has jolted the 160-year-old agency with the consecutive attempts to shoot the businessman-turned-politician, Trump. 

Major scrutiny and conspiracy theories have been doing the rounds ever since the ex-POTUS was shot in the middle of a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump survived as the bullet touched his ear. The Secret Service agents were able to trace the shooter on a building roof and shot him to death on the spot. However, claims of the agency being nonchalant when the deceased shooter Thomas Crooke was spotted by the supporters in the crowd remains mysterious. The former director Kimberly Cheatle resigned after the incident and questions about the capabilities of the agency. A recent case in a golf course led to the arrest of the shooter on the spot as he was chased down by the agents. 

However, concerns about the safety of the realtor remain a serious issue to tackle. According to BBC, Ryan Wesley Routh had camped for around 12 hours in the woods to shoot Trump. The 58-year-old accused was a staunch Trump supporter in 2016, however, he endorsed Tulsi Gabbard for the POTUS race in 2021. The agents alleged that he was spotted through his rifle barrel which was poking out of the bushes. According to reports, he did not get the opportunity to shoot at the business tycoon and fled the spot when the Secret Service agents showered bullets on him for his suspicious behavior. 

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw shared that his vehicle was spotted by them and chased to pin him down. After unsuccessfully attempting to abscond Routh shared that he despised Trump for his foreign policies. In his book titled, Ukraine’s Unwinnable War: The Fatal Flaw of Democracy, World Abandonment and the Global Citizen-Taiwan, Afghanistan, North Korea and the End of Humanity Routh expressed his dismay for the Trump administration. According to Newsweek, he wrote in his book, "I must take part of the blame for the retarded child that we elected for our next president that ended up being brainless. But I am man enough to say that I misjudged and made a terrible mistake and Iran I apologize."

If you're struggling to cope with grief, and need help, please reach out to Crisis Response at 1-800-203-CARE (2273)