The director of the Secret Service is refusing to step down after one of the worst agency failures since President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. On Saturday, former President Donald Trump had part of his ear blown off as a result of federal officials’ refusal to secure the rooftop of a building just 450 feet from a Pennsylvania rally platform.
“I do plan to stay on,” Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle told ABC News on Monday.
The agency chief went on to blame local law enforcement in Pennsylvania for the cascade of security lapses that ultimately culminated in the Republican presidential nominee taking a gunshot to the ear and only surviving by a miracle. Two rallygoers were injured in the assassination attempt and a third was killed.
This computer model of Trump turning his head at the last instant before the bullet would have killed him is unbelievable to watch: pic.twitter.com/uAlZoeO8C3
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) July 16, 2024
During her interview with ABC News, the Secret Service chief emphasized security of the building from where a gunman shot Trump was the responsibility of local police.
“In this particular instance, we did share support for that particular site and that the Secret Service was responsible for the inner perimeter,” she said. “And then we sought assistance from our local counterparts for the outer perimeter. There was local police in that building — there was local police in the area that were responsible for the outer perimeter of
