Trump’s former bodyguard: Protecting the president has become more difficult than ever policy

Writer Rob Hastings says that protecting US President Donald Trump has become more difficult than ever, in light of the escalating threats of political violence in the United States.

Hastings explained – in a report published by the British newspaper I Paper – that the scenes of Secret Service members briefing Trump and transporting him urgently have become frequent, especially after the third supposed assassination attempt in less than two years.

The writer quoted former agent Jeffrey James, who participated in protecting Trump during his first term, that the level of threat facing the president was unprecedented throughout his service, explaining that the security measures during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner succeeded in thwarting the attempt of the suspect Cole Allen, who was accused of trying to target Trump and a number of senior officials.

Draining hardware capabilities

James, who served in the Secret Service in charge of protecting presidents and important political figures between 1996 and 2018, adds that routine protection operations may become exhausted by the escalation of threats, because every report must be investigated.

The former official believes that this reality may lead to depleting the capabilities of law enforcement agencies, at a time when politicians from various trends, in addition to local officials, face increasing risks.

The iPaper report indicates a series of incidents of political violence in recent years, including murders, kidnapping attempts, and attacks targeting prominent figures, such as the attack on the husband of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, in addition to threats against members of Congress and judges in the Supreme Court.

The report quoted former agent Paul Eklov as saying that the size and nature of threats has doubled due to severe political polarization, which has led to an increase in the number of individuals focusing on targeting leaders, and the process of monitoring these people has increased. I became AThey are more complex, as they can be radicalized in relative isolation across the digital space.

Sharp political division

iPaper adds that criminal psychologist Reed Milloy confirms that there has been a clear increase in the frequency of political attacks since the 1990s, especially during the last decade, with thousands of threats recorded annually against members of Congress.

The author concludes his report by pointing out that the deep political division in the United States constitutes a major factor in escalating risks, as no president since former US President Ronald Reagan has been able to achieve a large majority of votes, which reflects a sharp societal division that in turn is reflected in security threats.