Former president Donald’s Trump Secret Service protection was a “catastrophic failure,” said commentator and former 12-year Secret Service agent Dan Bongino who protected presidents Barak Obama and George W. Bush.Trump survived an assassination attempt Saturday while on a stage six minutes into a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A bullet grazed his right ear. Claims and a photo circulating on social media of a bullet hole near his suit jacket pocket, and that he was saved by a bullet proof vest, are being disputed. Truth or not, it remains uncertain.With blood on his face, during confusion about a still imminent threat and the possibility of more shooters, a defiant Trump raised a clenched fist high, and told his supporters to “Fight. Fight. Fight.” He wanted to continue the rally but was ushered into an armoured vehicle by agents. He again proved he has remarkable courage in his mission to Make America Great Again.The seething hatred his enemies have instilled in sick minds swiftly reared its diabolical head in the stunning reaction by tens of thousands on social media who despaired that the shooter didn’t have a better aim. Humanity at its ugliest.Trump’s injury would have been grave if the bullet had hit mere millimetres closer. One attendee behind him was killed and another critically injured. Innocent patriots were traumatized. Those thirsting for more Trump blood didn’t care about these fellow Americans.Bongino is one of many — including Elon Musk — calling for the immediate resignation of Kimberly Cheatle, director of the Secret Service. And for swift hearings and investigations into how this epic failure occurred. Cheatle, a Biden appointee in 2022, has long been blasted for her obsessive quest to infiltrate the Secret Service with diversity, equity and inclusion hires. She served on Biden’s security detail when he was vice-president.Cheatle is scheduled to appear before the House oversight panel to testify on July 22.“This is obviously a catastrophic failure and NO excuses should be made, or even attempted,” Bongino posted on X. “The failures are profound and questions must be answered about ground surveillance, air surveillance, post-stander support, and counter-sniper advance work and response. We have ONE job, and we came within inches of a deadly failure today.”This isn’t the first time Trump’s Secret Service detail, that all former presidents get, has been under scrutiny.Bongino reported that agents on the job have told him requests for more security for Trump and around his residences have been refused. That was supported by Sean Davis, CEO of The Federalist. Intelligence has long warned that Trump was under serious threat of an assassination attempt. Yet in April, House Democrats callously attempted to introduce legislationaimed at Trump to remove Secret Service protection from convicted felons. Sure. Nothing sinister there.Protection has been a priority since the 1963 shooting of former president John F. Kennedy, the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981 and threats against presidential candidates.Just not for Trump.The FBI will oversee the investigation into what happened. This is same agency that sent heavily-armed agents to raid Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in August, 2022 with the authorization to use deadly force.“It was a political act, a deliberate act,” said Republican Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House of Representatives.President Joe Biden, whose slim chance of beating Trump in the November election has now evaporated, said he was “grateful” Trump was safe and that he’s “praying for him and his family.”Biden should be hauled into a hearing to explain what he meant when he secretly told donors a few days before that “it’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.” That comment cannot be spun in any way as normal presidential or even humane talk.Officials from the Secret Service, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI will appear before panels, said Mike Johnson, speaker of the Republican-controlled House. Hopefully, the investigations will answer questions. How did the gunman, Thomas Mathew Crooks, 20, escape detection when he climbed onto the roof of a building in broad daylight outside the venue’s secured parameter, but only 130 to 150 meters away from where Trump stood?Well, he didn’t escape detection. Onlookers saw an armed man and tried to alert lawenforcement and Secret Service. Videos show him lying on his belly on the roof. Why didn’t the snipers there “neutralize” him before he fired five or six shots? People were screaming “He’s got a gun.”The Associated Press reported that a police officer located Crooks on the roof but scurried down a ladder when the gunman pointed a weapon at him, before quickly turning his weapon on Trump.Crooks, who lived 65 kilometers away, was shot and killed by two counter assault team members, possibly Secret Service agents. An AR-style rifle was recovered.Trump told Americans Sunday to “show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win.”Former first lady Melania Trump, who didn’t attend the rally, watched from afar in horror as a “violent bullet” hit her husband. She realized her life and the life of their son Barron was on the “brink of devastating change.”“A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald's passion — his laughter, ingenuity, love of music and inspiration,” she said in a statement on X.“This morning, ascend above the hate, the vitriol, and the simple-minded ideas that ignite violence,” she urged.“America, the fabric of our gentle nation is tattered, but our courage and common sense must ascend and bring us back together as one," the former first lady said in a statement shared on social media.Wise words. And necessary. There’s nothing crazed lefties and desperate Democrats — who promote riots and they accuse MAGA supporters of being guilty of — would like more than America descending into wild civil unrest. Wouldn’t that be a great excuse to delay an election that they are almost certain to be pummelled in? Many who cannot be dismissed as wacky conspiracy theorists have been warning that something might be orchestrated to delay the election: a major global war outbreak; a grid attack; or civil war in America. The devious left doesn’t play be the rules. How can an America so divided unite? It’s debatable whether minds that post “it’s a pity he missed” can even think rationally anymore. “So close, too bad… I really wish that person had a better aim,” posted a crazed looking Dr. Karen Pinder in a video showing her face twisted with hate. It got much uglier and frenzied, but these fools don’t deserve more attention.Can anyone reason with them? Not likely. But they’ve had a free ride, goaded on by people like the despicable California Congresswoman Maxine Waters who has often said things like “I will go and take Trump out tonight.”But they can be forced to behave if they’re held accountable for spewing dangerous threats. They are the minority.Something truly incredible happened at that rally. When Trump, who crouched down after the bullet grazed his ear, rose again to raise his fist — people in the crowd who had ducked for cover boldly rose with him shouting “USA” despite the possibility of danger still present.Couple that with massive declarations on social media from people who said they weren’t planning to vote for Trump before, but will now. That is the beacon of hope that rises from the shot that was heard around the world.
