Trump Finally Has a Counter-Sniper Team

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This is a question that’s been percolating around the country ever since Donald Trump survived the first assassination attempt in July. Despite seemingly endless hearings and congressional inquiries, the same issue continued to hang over the campaign until shortly after the second attempt on his life at Mar-a-Lago. Why wasn’t the former President’s Secret Service detail beefed up in the face of multiple, obvious threats? Last night we saw what might be the first indication that something was being done. Trump traveled home to Manhattan to spend the night at Trump Tower prior to a rally scheduled for later today in the Big Apple. But this time his protective detail appeared to be at least a bit more proactive. Upon his arrival, a white tent had been set up over the entrance to the building and Trump was unloaded from his motorcade under that protective covering. He was then escorted inside the building by both the Secret Service and the NYPD. So what took them so long to take what appeared to be an obvious precautionary measure? (NY Post)

Donald Trump arrived at his heavily guarded namesake Manhattan tower Tuesday night and was led inside under the protection of a white tent and Secret Service snipers amid a boost in security for the former first family while in New York City.

The Republican presidential nominee arrived at Trump Tower shortly before 11 p.m. after flying to New York from Michigan, where he attended a town hall in Flint.

Trump, 78, was unloaded from his motorcade under the cover of a white tent before he was led into the Fifth Avenue tower with an assist from the NYPD.

A scaffolding had been erected above the white enclosure and a Secret Service countersniper team was stationed there, keeping an eye on the crowd. Thankfully, nobody appeared to have attempted any sort of violent attack on the GOP nominee and he proceeded to his quarters without incident. It’s true that Donald Trump can present some rather unique challenges when it comes to protecting him from an attack, particularly his reflexive desire to get out there and mix things up with his army of supporters. But this didn’t appear to be all that massive of an effort to keep him under cover, particularly given the size of the crowds in a place like Manhattan. Why wasn’t there a countersniper team assigned to him from the beginning?

In what appeared to be an effort to save face, a spokesperson for the Secret Service told reporters that Trump’s detail is “larger than that of any other former president receives while in the five boroughs.” That might be technically true, but it ignores a couple of key details. First of all, Donald Trump isn’t just “any former president.” He is simultaneously his party’s nominee to be the next president and the race is tightly contested. Just from that standpoint, Donald Trump’s security detail should be every bit as fully staffed as that of Kamala Harris by default. 

Further, there are six other former presidents or soon-to-be former ones scattered around the country. But there is one significant, glaring difference between Donald Trump and the rest of them. Nobody has been showing up repeatedly and attempting to shoot the other ones. The Secret Service is in the business of conducting threat assessments on a 24/7 basis. They really only have one job to do at the end of the day and it relies on accurately gauging and managing risks to the person they are protecting. You would have to be a seriously sorry individual if you tried to sneak into Jimmy Carter’s hospital room and shoot him at this point. But the progressive left has ramped up the violent rhetoric against Donald Trump ever since it became obvious that he would be the nominee. At least two people have already attempted to answer that “call to action.” Trump is facing a vastly greater level of risk than Clinton, Obama, or either Bush and we have the tapes to prove it.

Returning to the specific location in question, Manhattan poses security threats that are far above and beyond what were seen in Butler, Pennsylvania or at Mar-a-Lago. Thomas Crooks had to make his way onto an exposed roof in broad daylight to find a clear shot at his target. Mar-a-Lago is more wide-open, but the aspiring shooter still didn’t manage to establish a clear line of sight to make his attempt. The streets of Manhattan are crowded with tall buildings and thousands of windows and balconies where a shooter could attempt to set up an ambush. A white tarp covering the main entrance to Trump’s obvious destination was the least they could have done. The Secret Service clearly must do better going forward.