President Donald Trump reflected Saturday on Fox Newsâ âMy View with Lara Trumpâ about the first assassination attempt against his life in Butler, Pennsylvania, stating heâs âsatisfiedâ with the briefing heâs received about the security lapses that had occurred.
On July 13, 2024, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to kill the then-GOP presidential nominee, shooting multiple rounds into a crowd gathered to support Trump. While speaking to his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, the president said that while there were mistakes made by the U.S. Secret Service, he is âsatisfiedâ with his administrationâs findings on the subject after receiving ânumerousâ briefings on it.
âSo they briefed me numerous times, the FBI, the Secret Service, sort of everybody, DOJ. Pamelaâs doing a fantastic, I think sheâs doing a fantastic job,â Trump said, referring to Attorney General Pam Bondi. âBut they briefed me and Iâm satisfied with it. Iâm satisfied with it.â
âThey should have had somebody in the building, that was a mistake. They should have had communications with the local police. They werenât tied in. And they should have been tied in,â Trump added, referencing some of the key security failures that led up to the assassination attempt. âSo there were mistakes made. And that, you know, shouldnât have happened.â
Multiple outlets reported on Wednesday that six U.S. Secret Service agents were suspended in connection to the failures at the Butler rally. While the agentsâ identities had not been released by officials, sources told ABC News that the suspensions had been issued in recent months and the agents were given the right to appeal the 10- to 42-day punishments.
WATCH:
đş Embedded media â coming soon
The shooting at the rally left Trump with an injured ear grazed by a bullet, multiple crowd members injured and, ultimately, killed former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore.
With questions immediately being raised about the security at the event, little has been released about Crooks and his motive in the attack. As Crooks had been able to get a clear shot while climbing onto a nearby building, a report from The Wall Street Journal also revealed that the 20-year-old had been able to fly a drone hours prior to the event, capturing aerial footage of the rally setup.
âThat building was a prime building in terms of what they were trying to do. So but I was satisfied in terms of the bigger plot, the larger plot. I was satisfied,â Trump continued. âI have great confidence in these people. I know the people and theyâre very talented, very capable. They had a bad day. I think theyâll admit that at the end of a rough day, this is a very dangerous job being president.â
âYou know, I say a race car driver, one percent of one percent â think of that â die. Itâs not a lot. A bull rider. I think thatâs pretty dangerous. Itâs like one tenth of one percent die. With the president, itâs like five percent,â Trump said. âWhy didnât you tell me this? I could have maybe made a different decision, but I wouldnât have made a different decision because weâre doing so well.â
Lawmakers quickly called in then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle days after the attack to answer questions about her agencyâs failures.
After facing bipartisanscrutiny over the lack of perimeter security and accountability, Cheatle resigned just 10 days later. In a message to staff, she said she took âfull responsibility for the security lapse.â
Weeks after Crooks had attempted to take Trumpâs life, 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh was then arrested by officials for allegedly attempting to assassinate Trump at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporterâs byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with US, please contact [email protected].