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The incident drew immediate condemnation and calls for explanation from President Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill. (Photo: Shutterstock)
The second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump while he was golfing in Florida has sent shockwaves through a presidential campaign already marred by unprecedented violence and raised questions about why such an incident occurred twice in two months.
Secret Service agents shot a man hiding in bushes and pointing an AK-style rifle over a fence while Trump was playing golf at his West Palm Beach club on Sunday afternoon, in what the FBI is calling an assassination attempt on the Republican candidate.
At a rally in Pennsylvania in July, a gunman entered an unlocked roof and unleashed a hail of bullets, grazing Trump’s ear, killing one Trump supporter and seriously wounding two others.
While the Secret Service is working on how to keep Trump safe as he campaigns around the country and holds rallies that draw thousands, less attention has been paid to protecting him when he’s not campaigning, often at his clubs and properties.
Law enforcement officials have long known that there are areas around the property where people standing behind fences can see golfers, including Trump, and when Trump was president, photojournalists would often find gaps in the shrubbery to capture him on the green.
While Trump had no public plans to play golf on Sunday, he can often be seen playing at his own golf courses when he’s not campaigning. Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, about a 10-minute drive from his Mar-a-Lago estate, is a favorite of Trump. It’s one of three golf clubs he owns in Florida and boasts a 27-hole championship golf course and event space. Trump often has lunch or holds meetings in the clubhouse between rounds.
President Trump, who just returned from a visit to the West Coast including Las Vegas and Utah, announced on social media that he would be speaking about cryptocurrencies from Mar-a-Lago on Monday as he launches a new cryptocurrency platform.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw said at a press conference that security protocols around the course have been relaxed since President Trump left office.
“He is not a sitting president. If he were, this entire golf course would be surrounded. But because he is not a sitting president, his security is limited to areas that the Secret Service deems feasible,” he told reporters.
Law enforcement officials praised the work of the agents who protected Trump. One of the agents, tasked with scouting potential threats one hole away from the former president, spotted the gunman’s rifle barrel protruding from a fence surrounding the golf club and quickly engaged the man, Bradshaw said.
In an email sent to campaign staff Sunday night, senior campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Suzie Wiles credited the Secret Service with saving Trump’s life. Trump praised the bravery of the security agents who rushed to protect him as he rushed onto the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“President Trump and all of his companions are safe thanks to the incredible work of the U.S. Secret Service,” they wrote.
Unlike other presidents and typical VIPs who live in private homes with high fences or gated communities, Trump’s official residence is the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, which is open to dues-paying members who can mingle with the former president at meals and events and invite their own guests to the club.
Trump holds meetings on the club’s terrace many nights, DJing on an iPad, and once during his presidency he discussed a response to a North Korean missile launch from a candlelit terrace, a meeting that was filmed by club members and posted to social media.
The club is a popular venue in Palm Beach, frequently hosting fundraisers, weddings and other events, and sometimes attracting unannounced visits from Trump.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a social media post that the agency is working closely with the FBI, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies to investigate the incident.
The incident drew immediate condemnation and calls for explanations from Trump’s allies in Congress.
Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, chair of the House Republican Conference and a former aide to the president, said she was grateful Trump was safe, but we must ask why an assassin was allowed so close to him again.
Leaders of a bipartisan task force that has been investigating security failures in Pennsylvania said they were monitoring the situation and had asked the Secret Service for a report.
“While we are grateful that the former president was not harmed, we remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in any form,” Reps. Mike Kelly (R-Pennsylvania) and Jason Crow (D-Colo.) said in a joint statement.
Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, one of Trump’s rivals in the Republican primary, said the state would conduct its own investigation.
“The public has a right to know the truth about the attempted assassin and how he managed to come within 500 yards of the former president and current Republican candidate,” he said in a social media post.
President Joe Biden said in a statement he was relieved that Trump was unharmed and that there is no room for political violence or any kind of violence in our country. He said he had directed his staff to ensure that the Secret Service continues to have all the resources, capabilities and safeguards necessary to ensure the continued safety of the former president.
(Only the headline and photo of this report may have been modified by Business Standard staff. The rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First Published: 16 September 2024 | 09:01 AM IST
