Trump Dismisses Secret Service Director's 'Slope Theory' as 'Crazy', Grills Her Over Security Lapse

Following congressional pressure in the wake of former president Donald Trump's failed assassination attempt, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle announced her resignation.“As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse of our agency,” Cheatle told the House oversight committee while being questioned over the major security lapses by lawmakers from both Democratic and Republican parties. As per The Daily Mail, Trump did not buy the 'slope theory' projected by Cheatle, he said he had chastised her for failing to make sure agents were stationed on the roof, which was "really close" and had a "dead aim right onto the stage." When attempting to explain the enormous security failure, he said she indicated they 'didn't have the manpower for it' and gestured to the 'slope' of the roof. 

While appearing on Jesse Watters Prime Time on Fox News, Trump revealed that Cheatle 'came to see' him after the attempt on his life. During their meeting, Trump said to have grilled the Secret Service Director, "Somebody should have made sure there was nobody on that roof," he told Watters. "That roof was a dead aim right onto the stage. And they said they didn't have the manpower for it, which is crazy." 

Trump also reportedly brought up the roof's proximity to the location when Crooks opened fire at the rally, pointing out that it was only 400 feet (or 130 yards) from the stage. He said: "They said 130 yards is like sinking a one-foot putt. It's considered really close. 'It sounds like a lot, but it's really, from that standpoint, it's a very, you know, it's very close." The Republican leader mentioned that he was informed that "a bad shot would usually hit the target" at such range. "Somebody's got to be there,' he urged: 'And it's essentially a flat roof. I mean, I noticed that she said, well, this is a slope roof where you think of like a barn where you have, this thing had just a little – a little upswing in it, a few degrees. This was a not – it essentially was a flat roof."

"I thought she was very nice. But, you know, you have to answer why couldn't I have stayed off the stage for five minutes while they do their work," Trump said. "Why couldn't, you know, how does a situation happen where a roof that's plainly in sight from the location where I was speaking, why would somebody not have seen that?" However, during the congressional session Cheatle admitted that days before the event, the roof from which Crooks aimed at the rally had been flagged as a possible weak point. Meanwhile, when asked to explain why the position was overlooked, she gave a bizarre reason that the agency generally 'prefers sterile rooftops.' 

"When we are providing 'overwatch' whether that be through counter snipers or other technology, [we] prefer to have sterile rooftops," Cheatle claimed to the surprise of the Congress committee. According to The Daily Mail, to the gasps of committee members, Cheatle continued to sidestep inquiries about whether or not there had been an agent on the roof that day and whether or not law enforcement had employed drones to survey the perimeters. After a lengthy questioning Democrat Jamie Raskin, D-Md., pressed for a resignation. "I don't want to add to the director’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. But I will be joining the chairman in, calling for the resignation of the director," Raskin said. "We need to very quickly move beyond this."