PITTSBURGH – Former President Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, has vowed to return to holding outdoor rallies after surviving an assassination attempt at one in Pennsylvania on July 13 – and after the Secret Service urged him to shift his campaign events indoors in what some experts see as an admission of failure.
Writing in all caps on his Truth Social platform Saturday, Trump announced he would continue appearing before supporters outdoors.
“I will continue to do outdoor rallies, and Secret Service has agreed to substantially step up their operation,” he wrote. “They are very capable of doing so.”
Speaking Saturday, Trump also praised the Secret Service detail that protected him during the rally and defended the agents who rushed to his side after shots rang out.
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Republican presidential candidate former President Trump pumps his fist as he is rushed off the stage during a rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“Every one of them – there wasn’t one that was slow. A woman who was on my right, she was shielding me,” he said. “Beautiful person – she was shielding me, everything she could. And she got crushed. And she got criticized by the fake news because she wasn’t tall enough.”
The Secret Service now advising Donald Trump that he shouldn’t hold outside rallies is ridiculous. That is an admission the Secret Service suddenly can’t handle outdoor venues.
Republican presidential candidate former President Trump is covered by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The federal government has the power and resources to completely lock down campaign events for both sides until the end of the 2024 election season, according to Michael Balboni, a former New York lawmaker and Homeland Security adviser who played a role in the Pope’s visit to Ground Zero. But he said major overhauls should come after that.
“The Secret Service now advising Donald Trump that he shouldn’t hold outside rallies is ridiculous,” Balboni told Fox News Digital. “That is an admission the Secret Service suddenly can’t handle outdoor venues. What have they been doing for the last 20 years? Doing that. So why now? That was such an admission, that the service, with all of its resources and assets, can’t protect in an open environment.”
He said it may be unprecedented to ask a candidate to confine his or her campaigning to indoor venues only.
Then-presidential candidate Barack Obama speaks during an outdoor campaign rally at Buchanan Park in Lancaster, Pa., on Sept. 4, 2008. (Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
“Barack Obama had 80,000 people at his rallies – could you tell him that?” he said. “When Barack Obama became president there was a huge concern internally as to the assassination threats against him as the first Black president. So they stepped it up. What happened to that here?”
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Trump is also a polarizing figure, he said.
A female Secret Service agent is seen shielding Trump after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“He’s a tremendous target,” he added. “How did that inform their preparations?”
An FBI investigation into the motive of the failed assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, is underway. So are additional investigations by Congress and other agencies related to the security failure that allowed him to bring a rifle onto a rooftop within 150 yards of Trump.
“No one can ever be allowed to stop or impede free speech or gathering.”
Bill Gage, a retired Secret Service agent and a consultant at Safehaven Security Group, said the agency will likely now see scrutiny elevated all the way up to the new director’s office.
“Politically, he needs to get back out there,” he said. “He will look weak if he doesn’t do any more outdoor rallies. But from a professional take, it is problematic for the U.S. Secret Service. Every outdoor event will be fully scrutinized all the way to the director. Every single event will be beyond fully staffed and every threat or potential threat will be overly mitigated. This will further strain the agency during an already very active campaign season.”
Donald Trump reacts as multiple shots ring out during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. on July 13, 2024. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)
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On Friday, Trump revealed he would be returning to Butler for another rally to honor the bystander who Crooks killed with a stray bullet.
Crooks fatally struck 50-year-old Corey Comperatore and critically wounded David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74.
Fox News’ Ashley Papa contributed to this report.
