House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) stressed the need for former President Donald Trump to be protected, citing Sunday’s second assassination attempt as a reason to dedicate “every asset available” to his protection.
Johnson and his wife had been on their way to Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago when authorities were alerted of another attempt on Trump’s life, with the House speaker expressing his relief the former president was not harmed.
“President Trump needs the most coverage of anyone,” Johnson said on Fox News’s Fox and Friends. “He’s the most attacked, he’s the most threatened, even probably more than when he was in the Oval Office. So, we are demanding in the House that he have every asset available, and we will make more available if necessary. I don’t think it’s a funding issue. I think it’s manpower allocation.”
The speaker praised Trump for being “one of a kind” and for remaining “so strong and so resilient” amid the threats he is facing. He also credited God with protecting Trump again and said he thinks Trump also believes this.
Johnson added that he was reminded of how President George Washington had survived being shot at during his time as an Army colonel and that this battle “ironically” happened less than 50 miles from Trump’s first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
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In the wake of the latest attempt on Trump’s life, President Joe Biden said the Secret Service “needs more help” and called on Congress to respond. He added that the Secret Service would get the final say on deciding “whether they need more personnel or not.”
The suspect involved in the second assassination attempt has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, who was allegedly hiding in the bushes about 400 to 500 yards away from Trump with an “AK-47-style rifle with a scope,” a GoPro camera, and two backpacks with ceramic tile, according to law enforcement officials. The suspect fled the scene by car but was spotted by a witness, and authorities arrested him on I-95 in Martin County.
