In efforts to boost security for Donald Trump ahead of the remainder of his campaign, following the assassination attempt that occurred at his Pennsylvania rally last month, some of President Joe Biden’s protective team has been temporarily assigned to the former president, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The Secret Service has received much backlash since July 13, when an assailant fired a gun and a bullet grazed the side of Trump’s ear at an outdoor campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing a spectator and critically injuring two others. The agency has taken responsibility for the security lapses that made the shooting possible, and its director, Kimberly A. Cheatle, has since resigned and been replaced. According to an agency official, Cheatle is now under Secret Service protection herself after receiving threats following the Butler rally, along with at least two other Secret Service employees.
While the FBI continues to investigate the incident, the Secret Service has begun to heighten security operations for protecting three dozen current and former officials, and their families, through what has been an unpredictable and intense campaign year.
An agency official, who spoke to The Seattle Times on the condition of anonymity, said the reassignment of members of a president’s team to a candidate is unusual, but the increased threat of violence against Trump, coupled with Biden’s recently reduced travel schedule, made the shift both necessary and feasible.
Secret Service methodology “is made to be flexible,” Donald Mihalek, who protected several presidents during his two decades in the service before retiring in 2019, told The Seattle Times, “and to address known, and unknown, threats. The steps the Secret Service is taking are a natural part of its asymmetrical approach to assure their no-fail mission is fulfilled.” Mihalek added that he had occasionally seen members of a president’s team reassigned to other jobs for periods of time while serving as an agent, especially during United Nations events.
The Secret Service has also secured ballistic glass, which is designed to repel bullets, in order to provide enhanced protection for Trump at future outdoor campaign events, sources familiar with the matter told The Seattle Times, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential methods.
Trump held an outdoor news conference Thursday at his gold club in Bedminster, New Jersey, but he has not held an outdoor rally since the event in Butler.
