Former President Donald Trump reacted to the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Tuesday, stating, “She never gave me proper protection.”
Cheatle resigned a day after a brutal congressional hearing where she was unable or unwilling to answer many key questions from lawmakers on the failure of the agency to prevent an assassination attempt on Trump. Cheatle did admit during the House Oversight Committee hearing that the nearly successful assassination attempt against Trump at a July 13 Butler, Pennsylvania, rally was the “most significant operational failure” in the agency’s history in “decades.” Cheatle resigned amid a massive pressure campaign from Republicans and Democrats alike.
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Committee on Oversight and AccountabilityDuring a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, Trump was shot through the right ear by now-deceased 20-year-old suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks. Trump avoided death by mere centimeters when he ever-so-slightly turned his head. During the assassination attempt, one man was killed, and two others were injured. The man who was fatally killed while shielding his daughter from gunfire was later identified as former Pennsylvania fire chief Corey Comperatore. James “Jim” Copenhaver, 74, and 57-year-old David Dutch have been identified as the two victims who were critically wounded. Officials have reported that both are now in stable condition.
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C-SPAN“She never gave me proper protection, so I ended up having to take a bullet for democracy,” Trump told Fox News Digital after Cheatle resigned.
“Many requests were made by on-site Secret Service for more people, always with a turndown or no response,” Trump said. “I have the biggest crowds in history, and they should be treated accordingly.”
EXCLUSIVE: I spoke to @realDonaldTrump on the resignation of #SecretService Director Cheatle.
— Brooke Singman (@BrookeSingman) July 23, 2024
He tells me “she never gave me proper protection, so I ended up having to take a bullet for democracy.” 1/3
Trump added that “big improvements have been made over the last week.”
Trump also posted to Truth Social on Tuesday, accusing the Biden/Harris administration of failing to provide proper protection.
“The Biden/Harris Administration did not properly protect me, and I was forced to take a bullet for Democracy. IT WAS MY GREAT HONOR TO DO SO!” he wrote.
Fox News reviewed the letter Cheatle sent to the U.S. Secret Service Tuesday morning, in which she allegedly wrote, “To the Men and Women of the U.S. Secret Service, The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure.
“On July 13th, we fell short on that mission,” Cheatle said, adding that the “scrutiny” since the assassination attempt has “been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases.”
“As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she wrote.
“In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that, I have made the difficult decision to step down as your Director,” she continued.
