Dan Bongino Breaks Down 'Apocalyptic' Secret Service Failures Following Trump Assassination Attempt
Former Secret Service officer Dan Bongino is perhaps the most well-placed person to comment on the failures surrounding the assassination attempt against Donald Trump at his rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Bongino called the incident “an apocalyptic security failure” by the Secret Service and called for the resignation of its Director, Kim Cheatle.
Miraculously, Trump was slightly wounded in the shooting after the bullet grazed his ear, literally less than inches from striking him in the head.
Tragically, one audience member sitting behind Trump was killed by a bullet, while several others were wounded, two critically, by the spray of bullets.
During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, Bongino said Trump did the right thing by quickly collapsing behind the stage, which he said was likely armored.
“Donald Trump knew to duck — most people would,” Bongino said.
“He saved his own life. That’s just a fact.”
While the agents who jumped onto the stage to cover Trump before hustling him away, the former Secret Service agent said overall, “The failure here is absolutely catastrophic.”
According to Bongino, multiple authoritative sources told him, “There have been repeated requests to increase the security footprint around, not just the residences of Donald Trump, but [Trump’s] body itself, and they have been rebuffed.”
He laid the blame for the major security blunder on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
“The Secret Service director has completely failed, and, candidly, should resign today,” Bongino said.
“Kim Cheatle has failed Donald Trump.”
He also scoffed at the agency’s reported complaints about lack of staffing, and their boasts about technology
“I mean, this is — you’re blaming it on manpower?” Bongino said.
“So, just to be clear, we’re a $4 trillion United States government, and we can’t fork over enough money to keep our people alive?
“And then you’re sending out tweets like, ‘Oh, this is the best technology we have.’ Really? To let a sniper 150 yards away from the potential next president shoot a piece of his ear off? Pshhh! That’s your victory lap? Gimme a break, man!”
He continued:
“You have one job, and only one job,” he said.
“Your job is, ‘keep the body alive, no matter what.’ — Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Jill Biden, the president of Djibouti — it doesn’t matter. That is your job. They absolutely, resolutely, 100 percent failed. “
Bongino, who has twelve years of Secret Service experience under his belt, said, “This isn’t the agency I grew up in.”
He went on to say he still knows people in the agency, adding, “These are good men and women. But this was an apocalyptic security failure.”
“Don’t ever forget that an ‘uneventful’ failure is never a success. And the fact that Donald Trump didn’t die yesterday is no reason for anybody to take some kind of victory lap.”
He then called for a congressional investigation into the security detail’s failures following the assassination attempt.
“[B]efore we start sending out plaudits, we’d better look at and do a hot wash on this and find out exactly how abysmal the security plan was,” Bongino said.
Watch
During his “Bongino Report” podcast Saturday, Bongingo revealed that Trump does not currently have “a full presidential package” of protection.
He accused Cheatle of playing politics before repeating his call for her to step down.
“I could tell you stories for days about her putting politics ahead of presidential protection,” he said.
Watch
.@dbongino calls on Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle to resign immediately after attempted Trump assassination.
“It is time right now for Kim Cheatle to get her head out of her ass and do the right thing. I could tell you stories for days about her putting politics ahead of… pic.twitter.com/8ewszu5qFH
— Bongino Report (@BonginoReport) July 14, 2024
Bongino concluded with an appeal for his listeners to pray for America’s future.
“Just open up,” he said.
“Prayer matters. It’s not a joke. It’s not some scam,” he said.
“We need Him right now. The nation needs Him.”
He also praised Trump for his defiant response following the shooter’s attack.
“Campaigns are just snapshots and sound bites — that’s all they are,” he observed.
“Donald Trump’s got a lotta guts, man,” he said.
“Gettin’ up there, exposing himself again to what he knew — what he knew — was an assassination attempt. And pounding his fist in the air.
“That snapshot’s gonna live forever.”
READ: Critical Secret Service Resources Diverted to Jill Biden’s Event, Away from Trump’s Rally – Report