Donald Trump, his acting attorney general Todd Blanche, and sycophantic Trumpsters in Congress and beyond are asserting that the proposed 90,000 square foot ballroom Trump wants to build as an extension to the White House is justified by the Saturday evening assassination attempt at the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. They argue the ballroom would provide impenetrable protection from any attack.
That reasoning suggests a president would never venture outside White House grounds as no other venue could be as secure. He or she would be as separated from the populace as potentates are in despotic regimes.
Ridiculous! Safety can be assured, though never guaranteed, by ramping up appropriate safeguards based on each location a president visits and proper training of Secret Service agents.
Did anyone else notice in the video of the incident that in the moments before the assailant ran past their checkpoint in the Hilton the agents appeared to be relaxed, not looking in the direction from which he was coming? The key agent at the checkpoint was looking toward the ballroom entrance, not the area from which an attacker might come! Here’s the video: https://youtu.be/BqZCCZL7jl8
Secret Service lapses are becoming routine for Trump. In Butler, PA, during a campaign event in 2024, his protection failed to secure a rooftop with a direct line of fire to the podium where he was speaking. The would-be assassin was killed only after he fired several rounds.
Recently a car rammed through barriers at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach retreat.
Political violence has become a mainstay of life in America. Appropriate dollars should be spent to safeguard politicians, especially a president, but they should not be ensconced in a cocoon, separated from the public they serve.
