Staff Reports
Concerns about the personal security of former President Donald Trump have reached new heights, and surprisingly, they can’t be pinned solely on overzealous Twitter users. The Biden administration’s mixed signals regarding backing Israel and its ongoing commitment to an open border policy have become the punchline of a tragic joke—with the former president stuck in the crossfire. As worries about escalating Middle East tensions grow, so does the danger for Trump, who is already facing threats that would make a typical mob boss feel safe in his mother’s basement.
A recent hearing by a bipartisan House task force investigating the July 13 attempted assassination of Trump highlighted the severity of the situation. Representative Mike Waltz from Florida expressed alarm about Biden’s lack of leadership prompting chaos overseas and creating a domestic environment more perilous for Trump. The irony isn’t lost on anyone: as the Middle East becomes a powder keg, Trump is arguably the most endangered GOP presidential nominee in history. If Israel descends into a full-blown conflict with Iran, the border remains completely unfenced, and an unaccountable Secret Service is all that stands between Trump and a potential assailant, things might just get a lot riskier.
The attempted assassination of #DonaldTrump has created chaos in the #SecretService, in the #2024Election, and in the lives of those who were at the rally. Watch “TMZ Presents: Under Fire: The Trump Assassination Attempt” NOW on @Tubi: https://t.co/ufghrdmldr pic.twitter.com/xkTTGI88zm
— TMZ (@TMZ) August 3, 2024
Far from being your ordinary political rivalry, Trump is now caught in the crosshairs of terrorist groups emboldened by a Biden administration that seems to be offering no real leadership on either the foreign or domestic front. After Trump’s administration trashed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in 2020, threats to his life have snowballed. Recently, the FBI raised alarms about an Iranian operative slipping through the porous southern border with plans to target Trump and anyone close to him. It’s as if some international villain is flipping through the Yellow Pages looking for a hit, and the hit list just happens to include Trump.
The assailant, Thomas Matthew Crooks, made his attempt to shoot Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania last month, resulting in injuries to two bystanders and the tragic death of a father heroically shielding his family. Naturally, the Secret Service’s response has been less impressive than a three-legged dog trying to chase its tail. The chaos in their leadership shines a light on how ill-equipped they seem to be to handle security for someone like Trump, who is not just any former president but the Republican frontrunner facing unprecedented threats.
Waltz made it clear that Trump is not being allocated the security resources deserved in light of current circumstances. For some inexplicable reason, the bureaucracy appears to be treating him like any other ex-president, using a tired formula that doesn’t take into account the unique and grave threats he faces. Rather than scaling up his security effectively, the Secret Service seems stuck in a bureaucratic limbo, as if unsure whether to prioritize Trump’s safety or the maintenance of the status quo. In a world where threats are multiplying and the enemy is emboldened by weak policies, one can only wonder how long it will be before that knowledge finally sinks in and appropriate measures are put in place.
