Secret Service urges Trump team to erase all outdoor rallies from calendar: report

23 July 2024

Ten days after the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump that left one person dead, The Washington Post reports that Secret Service officials are urging the former president's team to avoid "scheduling large outdoor rallies and other outdoor events with big crowds" in the coming months.

The report comes just hours after Secret Service director Kimberly A. Cheatle resigned from her position after the agency failed to evade the ultimately unsuccessful attempt on Trump's life by 20-year-old Thomas Crooks at a July 13 Butler, Pennsylvania rally.

The New York Times reports, "President Biden, in a statement Tuesday, thanked Ms. Cheatle for answering his call to lead the agency," writing, "As a leader, it takes honor, courage and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organization tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service."

The Post notes:

Trump has held hundreds of outdoor rallies since launching his first presidential bid, often bragging about — and sometimes falsely inflating — his large crowds. They have become something of a cult favorite among his most passionate fans, with tailgate parties in parking lots, vendors lining open areas near the rally and large parades of traffic, often with gargantuan pickup trucks.

Sources familiar with the matter told the newspaper that the MAGA hopeful's campaign is currently "scouting indoor venues, such as basketball arenas and other large spaces where thousands of people can fit."

Former FBI special agent Clint Watt earlier this week told MSNBC's Symone Sanders-Townsend he believes the agency "probably didn't have the resources to" protect Trump during the rally, as officials were focused on preparing for the Republican National Convention.

The Washington Post's full report is available here (subscription required).

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