Security specialists view recent Trump incident as 'a failure, 100%'
Trump praised the Secret Service, stating they did an "absolutely outstanding" job.
TroibNews 
After two near-assassinations in a two-month span, the Secret Service is facing intense scrutiny regarding its protection of former President Donald Trump.
In July, the agency's director resigned amid widespread bipartisan outrage over its failure to prevent a gunman from accessing a roof and firing shots at Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Now, security experts are questioning how another would-be assailant was able to camp out undetected near Trump’s golf course for nearly 12 hours before a Secret Service agent confronted him, prompting the agent to open fire.
“I think it’s a failure, 100%,” said security expert Carrie Bachner, CEO of the Bachner Group and a former adviser to the Department of Homeland Security’s undersecretary for intelligence and analysis, referring to the latest incident. “Obviously, it was successful in the fact that the former president wasn’t shot, which is great, and no shots were fired from that particular individual,” she added. “However, that’s sort of looking at the glass half full, if you want to be positive about it.”
On Capitol Hill, the Secret Service is at the center of a House investigation into the first assassination attempt, and that inquiry appears ready to expand to cover the second incident.
Authorities indicated that the suspect from Sunday’s incident was just several hundred yards away from Trump while he was golfing. Bachner emphasized that an individual with a loaded weapon should never have been permitted to get so close to a presidential candidate.
In court filings submitted on Monday morning, an FBI agent stated that the suspect, Routh, began surveilling Trump’s golf course around 2 a.m. Sunday. Twelve hours later, as Trump was playing golf, a Secret Service agent noticed Routh's semi-automatic rifle protruding through the course's perimeter fence. The agent fired at Routh, who subsequently fled and was later arrested by local law enforcement on federal firearms charges.
The details surrounding the suspect's lengthy stakeout are troubling, according to John Sandweg, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “I think that’s fair to say that that’s a failure,” he remarked. “There’s no denying that.”
However, Sandweg noted that the Secret Service operates under intense demands and faces exceptionally high threats. Each time one of its protectees travels, agents must conduct pre-visit site assessments to look for potential hazards. During the campaign season, with protectees visiting various locations every day—ranging from fast food joints to large venues—agents have the added responsibility of screening each location.
The agency often relies on other law enforcement partners to assist with its expanding responsibilities, but Sandweg suggested that recent assassination attempts indicate a need for a more robust support strategy. “What we’re seeing right now is, that’s not enough,” he stated.
Defenders of the Secret Service argue that it is effectively carrying out a near-impossible task, and even Trump has acknowledged the efforts of the agents tasked with his protection. “THE JOB WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING,” he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”
In comments on Monday, President Joe Biden also lauded the agency while denouncing political violence. During a press conference on the same day, acting director Ronald Rowe Jr. commended the agents who safeguarded Trump from the would-be shooter. “The Secret Service’s protective methodologies work, and they are sound and we saw that yesterday,” he stated. “But the way we are positioned now in this dynamic threat environment has given me guidance to say, you know what, we need to look at what our methodology is.”
Paul Eckloff, a former assistant detail leader for Trump’s protective unit while he was in office, dismissed criticisms of the agency. “The unpredictability of the lone gunman and the single assassin is terrifying,” he pointed out. “And in this case, the protective method of how a golf course is secured worked.”
Eckloff explained that Trump’s tendency to frequently golf at the same location made him an easier target, but it also meant the Secret Service had developed familiarity with that venue. “This assassin knew there was a better-than-even chance that if he’s at Mar-a-Lago, he will golf and have lunch at the Trump International golf course,” Eckloff noted. “That said, what that leads to is familiarity by the agents.”
The Secret Service faces an overwhelming mission because expectations are so high. “In the end,” Eckloff remarked, “no protection is 100%. It’s just not possible. Not on a golf course, not in a building, not in a farm field. Law enforcement officers wear bulletproof vests and carry firearms because people are unpredictable and violence happens.”
Following the shooting incident at the Butler rally earlier this summer, there was an outcry against the Secret Service, with some conservatives calling for structural reforms. While Republicans have been more complimentary of Secret Service agents after Sunday’s incident, they have reiterated their criticisms of the agency’s leadership and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees it.
“I think there are some really patriotic, great people working in the Secret Service, but it’s the leadership. … I have no faith in Secretary Mayorkas,” Speaker Mike Johnson commented in a Fox & Friends interview, referring to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Additionally, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, has called for the Secret Service to be removed from DHS and returned to the Department of Treasury, its original parent agency.
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
Ramin Sohrabi contributed to this report for TROIB News
In July, the agency's director resigned amid widespread bipartisan outrage over its failure to prevent a gunman from accessing a roof and firing shots at Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Now, security experts are questioning how another would-be assailant was able to camp out undetected near Trump’s golf course for nearly 12 hours before a Secret Service agent confronted him, prompting the agent to open fire.
“I think it’s a failure, 100%,” said security expert Carrie Bachner, CEO of the Bachner Group and a former adviser to the Department of Homeland Security’s undersecretary for intelligence and analysis, referring to the latest incident. “Obviously, it was successful in the fact that the former president wasn’t shot, which is great, and no shots were fired from that particular individual,” she added. “However, that’s sort of looking at the glass half full, if you want to be positive about it.”
On Capitol Hill, the Secret Service is at the center of a House investigation into the first assassination attempt, and that inquiry appears ready to expand to cover the second incident.
Authorities indicated that the suspect from Sunday’s incident was just several hundred yards away from Trump while he was golfing. Bachner emphasized that an individual with a loaded weapon should never have been permitted to get so close to a presidential candidate.
In court filings submitted on Monday morning, an FBI agent stated that the suspect, Routh, began surveilling Trump’s golf course around 2 a.m. Sunday. Twelve hours later, as Trump was playing golf, a Secret Service agent noticed Routh's semi-automatic rifle protruding through the course's perimeter fence. The agent fired at Routh, who subsequently fled and was later arrested by local law enforcement on federal firearms charges.
The details surrounding the suspect's lengthy stakeout are troubling, according to John Sandweg, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “I think that’s fair to say that that’s a failure,” he remarked. “There’s no denying that.”
However, Sandweg noted that the Secret Service operates under intense demands and faces exceptionally high threats. Each time one of its protectees travels, agents must conduct pre-visit site assessments to look for potential hazards. During the campaign season, with protectees visiting various locations every day—ranging from fast food joints to large venues—agents have the added responsibility of screening each location.
The agency often relies on other law enforcement partners to assist with its expanding responsibilities, but Sandweg suggested that recent assassination attempts indicate a need for a more robust support strategy. “What we’re seeing right now is, that’s not enough,” he stated.
Defenders of the Secret Service argue that it is effectively carrying out a near-impossible task, and even Trump has acknowledged the efforts of the agents tasked with his protection. “THE JOB WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING,” he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”
In comments on Monday, President Joe Biden also lauded the agency while denouncing political violence. During a press conference on the same day, acting director Ronald Rowe Jr. commended the agents who safeguarded Trump from the would-be shooter. “The Secret Service’s protective methodologies work, and they are sound and we saw that yesterday,” he stated. “But the way we are positioned now in this dynamic threat environment has given me guidance to say, you know what, we need to look at what our methodology is.”
Paul Eckloff, a former assistant detail leader for Trump’s protective unit while he was in office, dismissed criticisms of the agency. “The unpredictability of the lone gunman and the single assassin is terrifying,” he pointed out. “And in this case, the protective method of how a golf course is secured worked.”
Eckloff explained that Trump’s tendency to frequently golf at the same location made him an easier target, but it also meant the Secret Service had developed familiarity with that venue. “This assassin knew there was a better-than-even chance that if he’s at Mar-a-Lago, he will golf and have lunch at the Trump International golf course,” Eckloff noted. “That said, what that leads to is familiarity by the agents.”
The Secret Service faces an overwhelming mission because expectations are so high. “In the end,” Eckloff remarked, “no protection is 100%. It’s just not possible. Not on a golf course, not in a building, not in a farm field. Law enforcement officers wear bulletproof vests and carry firearms because people are unpredictable and violence happens.”
Following the shooting incident at the Butler rally earlier this summer, there was an outcry against the Secret Service, with some conservatives calling for structural reforms. While Republicans have been more complimentary of Secret Service agents after Sunday’s incident, they have reiterated their criticisms of the agency’s leadership and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees it.
“I think there are some really patriotic, great people working in the Secret Service, but it’s the leadership. … I have no faith in Secretary Mayorkas,” Speaker Mike Johnson commented in a Fox & Friends interview, referring to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Additionally, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, has called for the Secret Service to be removed from DHS and returned to the Department of Treasury, its original parent agency.
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
Ramin Sohrabi contributed to this report for TROIB News
