Secret Service director says political environment ‘different’ than 2020 ahead of RNC and DNC

The return of in-person Republican and Democratic national conventions for the first time since 2016 provides the Secret Service with a daunting task, but Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said there are no specific threats against either convention.

The Republican National Convention begins in one week in Milwaukee, with the Democratic National Committee five weeks later in Chicago. Cheatle, speaking on ABC News’s This Week on Sunday, said the Secret Service is considering the heightened political polarization in recent years when preparing for both conventions.

“I think it plays into it. I think that the environment that we’re dealing with today is certainly different than it was four years ago. I’m sure we’ll see an evolution in the next four years as well. But it is definitely something that we take into consideration,” Cheatle said.

The RNC and DNC in 2020 were largely held virtually or with minimal in-person attendance, and since the last major in-person conventions eight years ago, there was the civil unrest in the summer of 2020 and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, as well as widespread anti-Israel protests since Oct. 7, 2023.

“There’s nothing specific and nothing credible out there right now, but we are tracking all threat streams, and we certainly work with our partners at the FBI and other intelligence agencies that supply that information to us,” Cheatle said on Sunday.

While there will likely be protests at the RNC, anti-Israel protesters are attempting to gather masses of demonstrators to convene in Chicago during the DNC over the party’s stance on the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. With the civil unrest and the DNC occurring in Chicago, the Secret Service will be looking to avoid the chaos of the infamous 1968 DNC in the city.

Cheatle said she is “absolutely confident” that both conventions will go off without a major incident.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Former President Donald Trump is expected to accept the GOP nomination for a third consecutive time on July 18, while President Joe Biden is set to accept the Democratic nomination on Aug. 22.

While Biden has maintained he will be the nominee, some Democrats have expressed concerns over Biden continuing at the top of the ticket after a disastrous debate performance last month.