CNN: ‘Irresponsible’ To Say Secret Service Didn’t Protect Trump
CNN’s Jim Acosta criticized former President Donald Trump for saying that the U.S. Secret Service failed to protect him during an attempted assassination. Trump claimed he had to “take a bullet for Democracy” due to lack of protection. Acosta called Trump’s statement “wildly irresponsible” and defended the Secret Service. However, reports revealed that Trump’s security detail was denied extra protection by Biden’s administration. Despite denying the reports initially, a Secret Service spokesman later admitted that they were true. The incident raised questions about security measures and protection for public figures.
CNN’s Jim Acosta claimed during his afternoon segment on Tuesday that it was “wildly irresponsible” for former President Donald Trump to accurately note that the U.S. Secret Service failed to protect him from an attempted assassination that left him with a wounded ear.
“The Biden/Harris Administration did not properly protect me, and I was forced to take a bullet for Democracy. IT WAS MY GREAT HONOR TO DO SO!” former President Donald Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social.
The 2024 Republican presidential nominee also pointed out shortly after U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned in disgrace that she “never gave me proper protection, so I ended up having to take a bullet for democracy.”
“When you hear the former president saying something like that, what’s your reaction?” Acosta asked his guest. “I mean, obviously, the Secret Service is a professional operation. To say something like ‘they did not protect me,’ it just sounds just wildly irresponsible.”
Jim Acosta on Trump saying the Secret Service did not protect him after he was shot:
Acosta: The Secret Service is a professional operation…to say something like ‘they did not protect me’ it just sounds just wildly irresponsible.
Wackrow: …not the reality of the situation… pic.twitter.com/O2pmbs7MTT— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) July 23, 2024
Acosta’s insinuation that the Secret Service offered Trump adequate protection on July 13 is not only factually inaccurate, but it’s also “wildly irresponsible.”
As The Federalist’s Sean Davis reported shortly after the attempted assassination, Trump’s security detail was denied “beefed up protection and resources” by Biden’s security regime.
Secret Service Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi initially pretended that the verified reporting was “absolutely false.” Even after admitting to The Washington Post that his statement was a lie, Guglielmi’s post insisting that “added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo” remained untouched.
Further reporting about the problems that plagued the Butler, Pennsylvania, agricultural grounds revealed law enforcement did not sweep the building used by the shooter, which was left outside of the security team’s perimeter. Nor did they do anything to detain the assassin after rallygoers and police officers alike pinned him as a person of interest.
Cheatle’s resignation comes 10 days after either deliberate failures or deficiency by her agency allowed a 20-year-old shooter to take a rooftop shot at the Republican during his Butler rally. The spray of bullets that ensued not only hit Trump’s ear, but seriously injured two others, and killed beloved husband and “real-life superhero” Corey Comperatore.
Even if Trump had not been hit, former Secret Service special agent Ken Valentine told The Federalist that the agency failed to accomplish its “mission and goal.”
“Prevention, Plan A. That’s the mission and the goal of the Secret Service, to prevent, to thwart, to make sure that these things don’t happen. Plan B is reaction,” he said.
Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.
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