Concerns about former President Donald Trump’s personal security have surged as the Biden administration has given mixed messages about backing Israel and keeping the border open despite evidence that likely terrorists have slipped into the United States.
A key member of the newly formed bipartisan House task force looking into the July 13 attempted assassination of Trump said threats to the GOP presidential nominee have surged with the growing fears of a Middle East war and continued open border policies of President Joe Biden.
“I think that the thing that has me so alarmed is as Biden’s lack of leadership and mismanagement makes the Middle East situation worse, I think the sad irony is it gets even more dangerous for the former president,” Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) said.
“Israel unleashes on Iran over the next week, and our border is wide open, that’s even more of a dangerous situation for the former president. And you seem to have a Secret Service and a DHS leadership that’s in a kind of agency protection mode, rather than accountability and reform mode. And that has me very, very concerned,” Waltz added in an interview.
Iran and anti-America terrorist groups have put out threats to Trump and others over the past few years. The threats were expanded to top aides after Trump’s administration killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020.
After would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks shot Trump and those in the stands of a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last month, the FBI warned of follow-on attacks.
“I don’t think we’ve ever faced a level of foreign threats targeting a former president like what he’s facing. The Iranians are serious, and when the FBI goes public with an Iranian operative that transited Venezuela into our country and recruiting assassins, they’re serious about taking him out,” Waltz said.
Trump’s right ear was injured in the shooting. He credits his sudden head turn with avoiding certain death. Two in the crowd behind him were injured, and a father was killed as he protected his family from the shots.
Secret Service leadership has been in disarray since the shooting, and the director was forced to resign.
The congressman is the first member of the Army Green Berets elected to Congress. He is about to release his third book, Hard Truths: Think and Lead Like a Green Beret. He talked to Secrets for an upcoming story about the book.
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While we talked about the task force, Waltz said the Secret Service has mistakenly handled Trump like a typical former president, not one who is also the Republican Party’s nominee in need of added security.
“His core [security] detail has been begging for more assets for years. And what they told me was that he was treated, you know, the bureaucracy budgeted him as a former president. The formula for former presidents, whether you’re Jimmy Carter or Donald Trump, and that’s it,” Waltz said.
