Et Tu, Secret Service? How Many Close Calls Before the Secret Service Finally Wakes Up?

 

The Secret Service is more concerned with technicalities than with actually protecting the lives of the very people they're sworn to defend. How can the Secret Service be trusted to protect America’s leaders when they can’t even secure a golf course from an armed gunman?

Fore! Once again, a golf course is the stage for a close call, as Donald Trump narrowly escapes another assassination attempt, this time during a round of golf in Florida. The recurring theme of political violence is alarming enough, but what is even more disturbing is the growing suspicion about the competence of the United States Secret Service. How is it that a gunman, armed with an AK-47-style rifle, could approach within yards of a former president? This latest breach has raised the eyebrows of both the public and political elites, leading to an unsettling question: What’s wrong with the Secret Service? Is their reputation of being America’s elite protection force nothing more than a farce?

In this latest debacle, Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old man with a history of volatile political opinions, managed to sneak up close enough to Trump's golf course to pose a deadly threat. He was only discovered when a Secret Service agent noticed the barrel of a rifle peeking out from behind a fence. The fact that this agent caught a glimpse of the weapon just in time raises an uncomfortable realization—this was a near miss, one that could have gone much worse. What’s more, this marks the second time in just two months that a gunman has come dangerously close to Trump. One must wonder, is the Secret Service asleep at the wheel?

This agency, charged with protecting the lives of America’s highest-profile politicians, seems to have lost its grip on the very job it was created to do. One would think that after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, or the near-fatal attempts on the lives of Ronald Reagan in 1981 and President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, the Secret Service would have taken all necessary precautions. These incidents were supposed to serve as lessons for future generations, prompting the agency to be on perpetual high alert. But with two close calls on Trump’s life in just a matter of weeks, that vigilance seems to have been thrown out the window.

Let’s not forget the recent event in July, when another gunman, Thomas Crooks, fired a shot that grazed Trump’s ear at a rally in Pennsylvania. Crooks was arrested, but not before exposing a serious flaw in the Secret Service’s ability to protect a figure as polarizing as Trump. When Ric Bradshaw, the Palm Beach County Sheriff, was asked how Routh had managed to get so close to Trump on the golf course, his response was as shocking as the event itself: "He’s not the sitting president." Bradshaw’s nonchalant explanation essentially points to the fact that the Secret Service is willing to scale down security based on a technicality.

This is where the problem lies. Yes, Trump is not the sitting president, but does that give the Secret Service a free pass to downgrade its security measures? America is in an era where political violence knows no boundaries, where armed radicals seem to emerge from the shadows with alarming regularity. The agency’s mindset should not be one of "limited to the areas the Secret Service deems possible," as Bradshaw described, but rather a full-fledged commitment to securing any venue where high-profile targets are present. Complacency, as history has shown, can be deadly.

The agency’s lackluster defense is even more glaring when considering the timing. This attempt came just days after Vice President Kamala Harris debated Trump. The political tension is already at an all-time high. Political figures from both parties have been targets for years, and Trump, with his controversial stance on nearly every issue, is a lightning rod for both admiration and hatred. The Secret Service must know this, and yet, here we are—another gunman inches away from what could have been a national tragedy.

There is a reason why the American public is losing faith in the Secret Service. If the elite protection unit can’t keep a former president safe on a golf course, what confidence should the public have in its ability to prevent another attempt on Trump's life, or the lives of any high-profile politician? The fact that Ryan Wesley Routh was allowed to come so close to a former president is a stinging indictment of the agency's failure to stay ahead of the threats. Worse still, the gunman reportedly had a GoPro camera, likely intending to film his violent act. This chilling detail adds an extra layer of horror to the already disturbing scenario: Are we on the verge of seeing political assassinations broadcasted like reality TV?

Public trust in the Secret Service has wavered before. Scandals involving agents in Colombia and the shocking 2014 incident in which a knife-wielding man breached the White House grounds have already cast a long shadow over the agency. But these assassination attempts on Trump, so close to the elections, have given new life to the skepticism surrounding the agency’s competence. How many more near-death experiences must it take before the leadership of the Secret Service takes real responsibility for its failings?

The hard truth is that if the Secret Service doesn't address its shortcomings soon, America may be in for a much darker chapter in its history. The question that looms large is: What would happen if they don't get their act together? The 2024 election cycle is set to be one of the most contentious in modern history. If the agency cannot rise to meet the challenge, it’s not just Trump’s life that could be in jeopardy, but the very fabric of the American political system.

In the aftermath of the July incident, Trump declared, "I WILL NEVER SURRENDER!" While the former president’s defiant rhetoric may rally his base, the fact remains that another close call like this could plunge the nation into chaos. And what of the Secret Service? Will they continue to offer hollow explanations and half-hearted security measures?

Et tu, Secret Service? It seems that the very agency tasked with safeguarding American democracy may be inadvertently sowing the seeds of its own destruction. If history has taught us anything, it’s that complacency can be fatal. The Secret Service needs to wake up and face the music—before it’s too late.