President Joe Biden said on Monday that he’s grateful former President Donald Trump is safe following a second assassination attempt, adding that the Secret Service “needs more help.”
Biden spoke to reporters outside the White House and was asked about the attempt on Trump’s life on Sunday. Ryan Routh was apprehended by authorities after Secret Service agents saw a gun barrel sticking out of a fence just 300-500 yards from where Trump was golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“Thank God the president is okay,” Biden said, adding, “One thing I want to make clear is, the service needs more help. And I think Congress should respond to their need.”
When pressed by a reporter to explain what help the Secret Service needs, Biden replied, “They may decide whether they need more personnel or not.”
BIDEN: “Thank God the President’s OK….. One thing I want to make clear, the Secret Service needs more help. I think Congress should respond to their needs.”pic.twitter.com/7B6PeI16pm
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 16, 2024
Biden’s comments on the Secret Service on Monday came shortly after Trump told Fox News that “the rhetoric of Biden and Harris … is causing me to be shot at.” The attempted assassination is the second on Trump in a matter of weeks after the Republican nominee was struck by a bullet during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
“Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out,” Trump said.
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Secret Service failures led to Trump getting shot in the right ear on July 13. Gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks gained access to a rooftop just 150 yards away from Trump during the campaign rally and fired eight shots before he was neutralized by Secret Service counter-snipers. Three rallygoers were struck by bullets fired from Crooks’ gun, and one person — Corey Comperatore — was killed.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned shortly after being grilled by Congress on her agency’s security failures during the Trump rally. After Cheatle’s resignation, acting Director Ronald Rowe said he “cannot defend” why the roof that the shooter accessed to fire at Trump “was not better secured.”
“What I saw made me ashamed,” he added.
According to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), whistleblowers revealed earlier this month that the agents protecting Trump during his Butler rally were Homeland Security personnel who were “thrown onto Trump’s protective detail with nothing more than a 2hr online training.”
Trump praised the Secret Service agents protecting him on Sunday after they appeared to foil another attempt on his life.
“I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes – It was certainly an interesting day! Most importantly, I want to thank the U.S. Secret Service, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and his Office of brave and dedicated Patriots, and, all of Law Enforcement, for the incredible job done today at Trump International in keeping me, as the 45th President of the United States, and the Republican Nominee in the upcoming Presidential Election, SAFE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “THE JOB DONE WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”
