Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Secret Service Pulls From Biden’s Protective Team to Guard Trump
d8a347b41db1ddee634e2d67d08798c102ef09ac
By The New York Times
Published 3 months ago on
August 16, 2024

Former president Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, speaks at a news conference at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. The Secret Service has bolstered Trump’s security in a variety of ways since the assassination attempt on him last month, several people familiar with the matter said on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, including by temporarily shifting part of President Biden’s protective team to Trump. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Secret Service has bolstered former President Donald Trump’s security in a variety of ways since the assassination attempt on him last month, several people familiar with the matter said Thursday, including by temporarily shifting part of President Joe Biden’s protective team to Trump.

The Secret Service has also secured ballistic glass, which is designed to repel bullets, to provide enhanced protection for Trump at future outdoor campaign rallies, those people added, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential methods.

The reassignment of members of a president’s team to a candidate is unusual, said a Secret Service official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential policy matters. But the increased threat of violence against Trump, combined with Biden’s recent reduced travel schedule, made the step both necessary and feasible, the official added.

White House: No Immediate Comment

A White House spokesperson had no immediate comment, and a Trump campaign spokesperson declined to comment.

The Secret Service has been under a cloud since July 13, when an assailant was able to fire, unimpeded, on Trump at an outdoor campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The attack grazed Trump’s ear, killed a spectator and seriously wounded two others. The FBI is investigating, and congressional leaders have also opened inquiries.

The Secret Service has taken responsibility for the security lapses that made the shooting possible. Kimberly A. Cheatle resigned as the agency’s director and has been replaced. But even as it reels from its worst presidential security breach in more than four decades, the agency has had to continue its mission of protecting three dozen current and former officials, and their families, through what is proving to be a challenging and intense presidential campaign year.

Secret Service methodology “is made to be flexible,” said Donald Mihalek, who worked for the agency for two decades before retiring in 2019, “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, who helped protect several presidents during his years in the service, said that he had occasionally seen members of a president’s team reassigned to other jobs for periods of time, especially during United Nations events.

The agency’s presidential protective division, as the group is known, is used for high-level protective details because of its experience and expertise, he said.

The division consists of hundreds of Secret Service employees who fan out across the White House compound to fulfill various security roles and also travel with the president, according to the current service official as well as former agents. Because Biden has traveled relatively little since dropping his reelection bid on July 21, division members who would typically travel and do advance work are now available to work with Trump’s team, the official said.

It is rare — though not unheard-of — to use ballistic glass for those being protected other than the sitting president and vice president, partly because the material is heavy to move, current and former Secret Service officials said. The glass is usually transported by military planes, these people said, easing the logistical burden on the Secret Service.

In the case of Trump, whose potential use of ballistic glass for future campaign events was reported earlier by ABC News, the glass will be positioned at various points around the country for ease of use, a service official said.

Trump held an outdoor news conference Thursday at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, but he has not held an outdoor rally since the one in Butler.

He has said he would like to return to the Butler area for a future event.

“We’re going to go back in October,” he said in an interview with billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk this week.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Kate Kelly/Haiyun Jiang
c. 2024 The New York Times Company

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Man Arrested After Allegedly Threatening to Kill Middle School Girls, Staff

DON'T MISS

Two Fresno, Clovis Trustee Races Remain Tight. Bond Measures Passing with Growing Margins

DON'T MISS

Richardson Close to Cementing Northeast Fresno Council Race

DON'T MISS

Visalia Motorcyclist Killed in Collision on Walnut Avenue

DON'T MISS

DOGE Is a Promising Step Toward Federal Efficiency: Fareed Zakaria

DON'T MISS

Listeria Outbreak Tied to Yu Shang Food Leaves California Infant Dead and 10 People Sick

DON'T MISS

UN Expert: Myanmar’s Desperate Military Ramps Up Attacks Including Beheadings, Rapes and Torture

DON'T MISS

Christine Pelosi Leads Charge to Ensure Every Vote Counts in Tight Duarte-Gray Race

DON'T MISS

Dolly Parton’s Wish? For Fresno County Children to Read

DON'T MISS

Man Found Dead in Fresno’s Roeding Park Identified as Bay Area Resident

UP NEXT

Two Fresno, Clovis Trustee Races Remain Tight. Bond Measures Passing with Growing Margins

UP NEXT

Richardson Close to Cementing Northeast Fresno Council Race

UP NEXT

Visalia Motorcyclist Killed in Collision on Walnut Avenue

UP NEXT

DOGE Is a Promising Step Toward Federal Efficiency: Fareed Zakaria

UP NEXT

Listeria Outbreak Tied to Yu Shang Food Leaves California Infant Dead and 10 People Sick

UP NEXT

UN Expert: Myanmar’s Desperate Military Ramps Up Attacks Including Beheadings, Rapes and Torture

UP NEXT

Christine Pelosi Leads Charge to Ensure Every Vote Counts in Tight Duarte-Gray Race

UP NEXT

Dolly Parton’s Wish? For Fresno County Children to Read

UP NEXT

Man Found Dead in Fresno’s Roeding Park Identified as Bay Area Resident

UP NEXT

Fresno Authorities Search for Domestic Violence Suspect Considered Armed and Dangerous

Visalia Motorcyclist Killed in Collision on Walnut Avenue

54 minutes ago

DOGE Is a Promising Step Toward Federal Efficiency: Fareed Zakaria

2 hours ago

Listeria Outbreak Tied to Yu Shang Food Leaves California Infant Dead and 10 People Sick

2 hours ago

UN Expert: Myanmar’s Desperate Military Ramps Up Attacks Including Beheadings, Rapes and Torture

2 hours ago

Christine Pelosi Leads Charge to Ensure Every Vote Counts in Tight Duarte-Gray Race

3 hours ago

Dolly Parton’s Wish? For Fresno County Children to Read

3 hours ago

Man Found Dead in Fresno’s Roeding Park Identified as Bay Area Resident

4 hours ago

Fresno Authorities Search for Domestic Violence Suspect Considered Armed and Dangerous

5 hours ago

NBA Memo to Players Warns About Organized Home Break-Ins

5 hours ago

Fresno School Employees Say District’s Job Shifts Endanger Kids and Staff

5 hours ago

Tulare County Man Arrested After Allegedly Threatening to Kill Middle School Girls, Staff

A Strathmore man was arrested Thursday after authorities say he threatened to kill students and staff at Strathmore Middle School, the Tular...

30 minutes ago

Jason Mitchell, 43, of Strathmore, was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill students and staff at Strathmore Middle School. (Tulare County SO)
30 minutes ago

Tulare County Man Arrested After Allegedly Threatening to Kill Middle School Girls, Staff

37 minutes ago

Two Fresno, Clovis Trustee Races Remain Tight. Bond Measures Passing with Growing Margins

43 minutes ago

Richardson Close to Cementing Northeast Fresno Council Race

54 minutes ago

Visalia Motorcyclist Killed in Collision on Walnut Avenue

2 hours ago

DOGE Is a Promising Step Toward Federal Efficiency: Fareed Zakaria

2 hours ago

Listeria Outbreak Tied to Yu Shang Food Leaves California Infant Dead and 10 People Sick

2 hours ago

UN Expert: Myanmar’s Desperate Military Ramps Up Attacks Including Beheadings, Rapes and Torture

3 hours ago

Christine Pelosi Leads Charge to Ensure Every Vote Counts in Tight Duarte-Gray Race

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend