Analysis: Mind-boggling security breakdown puts Trump at risk again

How could Mr Trump not already have the highest level of protection, having been shot once and also made the target of an Iranian assassination plot, asks Tom Minear.

How the hell does this keep happening? How does a man with an AK-47-style rifle get within range of Donald Trump, two months after another gunman attempted to assassinate him?

The answer is apparently as simple as it is stunning.

After the latest alleged attempt to kill the former and potentially future US president, this time while he was playing golf, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw confirmed Mr Trump’s Florida course was not completely locked down because “he’s not the sitting president”.

Law enforcement secures the area around Trump International Golf Club after an apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

“If he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded, but because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems hostile,” he said.

“I would imagine that the next time he comes to the golf course, there’ll probably be a lot more people around the perimeter. But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done, they provided exactly what the protection should have been.”

This is mind-boggling. How could Mr Trump not already have the highest level of protection, having been shot once and also made the target of an Iranian assassination plot?

Perhaps there is a level of complacency when the 78-year-old hits the links, given his regular rounds of golf are not campaign events and are not listed on any public schedules.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw holds a photograph of the rifle and other items found near where a suspect was discovered during a press conference. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

At Mr Trump’s outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind bulletproof glass. But somehow he was allowed to play golf on a course which Mr Bradshaw acknowledged was surrounded by shrubbery in which anyone could be “pretty much out of sight”. Given that area could be easily accessed from a nearby road, it was a perfect spot for a sniper’s nest.

The Secret Service personnel who spotted a rifle pointing out from the trees and opened fire performed their duties courageously. But they should not have been put in such a situation again by an agency that failed to protect Mr Trump during his Pennsylvania campaign rally.

The Secret Service director quit after that cavalcade of mistakes. There will have to be more consequences now – and Mr Trump must receive the same security as President Joe Biden.

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appears to have dodged another assassination attempt. Picture: AFP

Predicting the impact of these latest shocking events on November’s presidential election is difficult. After the 78-year-old was shot two months ago, he said he was a changed man and would campaign to unify the country. Since then, his aggressive rhetoric has only intensified in a race that was up-ended by Kamala Harris replacing Mr Biden as his opponent.

A car which is believed to be the accused gunman’s car. Picture: Martin County Sheriff

Certainly, Mr Trump’s supporters will be even more determined now to propel him back to the White House, the most ardent of those already believing that divine intervention saved his life in Pennsylvania. The former president himself will be similarly emboldened.

No matter what you think of him, Mr Trump deserves the right to safely fulfil his democratic duties. The alternative – which was twice so close to reality – is too terrifying to comprehend.

Originally published as Analysis: Mind-boggling security breakdown puts Trump at risk again