The lack of faith in the agency that once topped government approval lists was uncovered in the latest Gallup survey of the public’s view of key federal offices, which showed disapproval surging for the outfit charged with protecting presidents and other top officials.
Gallup found that approval of the Secret Service was cut by more than half from its 2019 high of 69%. Prior to the first Trump assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, approval of the Secret Service was at 55%. It is now just 32%.
And that could sink further since the survey was conducted mostly prior to the latest assassination attempt in Florida while Trump was golfing at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Congress and the FBI are investigating both tries on Trump’s life, and early indications are that the Secret Service blundered its role.
In Butler, the shooter was able to get shots off, one of which hit Trump’s ear while another killed a Trump rally supporter. The shooter was killed after firing more shots. In Florida, the Secret Service fired at a suspected assassin after a rifle muzzle was spotted poking out of bushes.
A staff shake-up resulted at the Secret Service after the first try, but that apparently did not end public concerns about the security agency.
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Gallup’s analysis was damning for the agency.
“The motto of the Secret Service is ‘worthy of trust and confidence,’ yet the U.S. public doesn’t currently agree,” it said. “The agency has been the target of bipartisan criticism since the first attempted assassination of Trump in July, and the public’s ratings of the agency have worsened significantly. It is unclear if the second apparent assassination attempt would cause ratings of the Secret Service to change. However, the latest attempt on Trump’s life is sure to draw even more scrutiny to the agency and its policies.”
