In the wake of Sunday’s attempted assassination of former President Trump, the second time in two months, lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are calling for increased security for the GOP presidential nominee.
“Thank God for the quick-acting US Secret Service Agents today stopping another would-be assassin targeting President Trump,” said Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY). “I call on President Biden to issue President Trump the same security levels that would be issued to a sitting President of the United States. Enough is Enough!”
Thank God for the quick-acting US Secret Service Agents today stopping another would-be assassin targeting President Trump.
— Nick Langworthy (@NickLangworthy) September 15, 2024
I call on President Biden to issue President Trump the same security levels that would be issued to a sitting President of the United States.
Enough is…
That message was echoed by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA).
“The Secret Service must come to Congress tomorrow, tell us what resources are needed to expand the protective perimeter, & lets allocate it in a bipartisan vote the same day,” he said on X.
Two assassination attempts in 60 days on a former President & the Republican nominee is unacceptable. The Secret Service must come to Congress tomorrow, tell us what resources are needed to expand the protective perimeter, & lets allocate it in a bipartisan vote the same day.
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) September 16, 2024
The calls come after a leftist gunman, Ryan Wesley Routh, was able to get within 500 yards of the former president while he was playing golf at his club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw explained Sunday that the course is “surrounded by shrubbery” making anyone along the perimeter “pretty much out of sight.”
He also acknowledged why such a potential assassin was able to get even that close to the Republican presidential nominee.
“At this level that he is at right now, he's not the sitting president," Bradshaw said.
Law enforcement says "The golf course is surrounded by shrubbery, so when somebody gets into the shrubbery, they're pretty much out of sight. And at this level that he is at right now, he's not the sitting president..." pic.twitter.com/fNWMrAK2Ew
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) September 15, 2024
The potential assassination was thwarted by a Secret Service agent who spotted a rifle protruding from the fence and immediately opened fire. Routh fled the scene in a vehicle but was later apprehended by Florida law enforcement and taken into custody.