EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump reacted to the news of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigning in the wake of the assassination attempt against him, telling Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that “she never gave me proper protection.”
Cheatle resigned Tuesday morning amid pressure from Republican and Democrat lawmakers amid scrutiny over the massive security failure that led to the shooting at the Butler, Pa. Trump rally earlier this month.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump, during his rally, ever-so-slightly turned his head—narrowly missing the bullet shot by 20-year-old suspect Crooks’ AR-15-style rifle by just a quarter of an inch. The bullet hit him, instead, in his upper right ear.
The bullet killed firefighter, father and husband Corey Comperatore as he protected his family from the shots, and severely injured two others.
“She never gave me proper protection, so I ended up having to take a bullet for democracy,” Trump told Fox News Digital Tuesday after she resigned.
“Many requests were made by on-site Secret Service for more people, always with a turn down or no response,” Trump said. “I have the biggest crowds in history, and they should be treated accordingly.”
Trump told Fox News Digital, though, that “big improvements have been made over the last week.”
Fox News reviewed the letter Cheatle sent to the U.S. Secret Service Tuesday morning, just a day after she testified before the House Oversight Committee Monday and over a week after a would-be assassin Thomas Crooks attempted to take the life of Trump at his rally in Butler, Pa. on July 13.
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 22: United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee during a hearing at the Rayburn House Office Building on July 22, 2024 in Washington, DC. The beleaguered leader of the United States Secret Service has vowed cooperation with all investigations into the agency following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
“To the Men and Women of the U.S. Secret Service, The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure,” Cheatle wrote in a letter to the agency. “On July 13th, we fell short on that mission.”
SECRET SERVICE EXPLANATION CONTINUES TO EVOLVE ONE WEEK AFTER ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION
Cheatle said that the “scrutiny” over the last week “has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases.”
“As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she wrote.
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“In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that, I have made the difficult decision to step down as your Director,” Cheatle wrote.
The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has opened an investigation into the Secret Service’s handling of security for the Trump rally on July 13.