If you stare at the rearview mirror long enough, you're likely to hit something right in front of you. It's exactly why Team Trump needs to look at their risks, now, in the days ahead.
More than ever before, that need is well-beyond urgent.
Last weekend, former-President Donald J. Trump joined a select loathsome club, including six other presidents in our nation's history that have either been assassinated, or an attempt was made on their lives.
The cliché "dodged a bullet" could not be more apt as he unpredictably looked at a slide on the magnetron referring to state sponsored illegal immigration.
Pop, pop, pop.
The bullet sliced through Trump’s ear.
A nearby hero, firefighter Corey Comperatore, protecting his family was killed.
Another spectator wounded.
Number 45 rose to his feet, raising a fist in defiance, yet another breech of executive protection procedures.
There were too many to count that day.
The narrative advanced by the media was almost too quick to the airwaves.
A troubled youth, son of Republicans who took Daddy’s gun along with botched coordination and execution from a struggling U.S. Secret Service.
Now, the sentiment on the part of some seems to be: "Leave those tinfoil hat people wanting more answers alone. After all, they are crazy you know."
Oh really? Shall we review the scorecard?
President Trump has been fending off attacks since the famous trip down the escalator (at Trump Tower in New York) to announce his run for president on June 16, 2015.
In that time, he was spied on, investigated, impeached, accused of insurrection, impeached again, raided, sued, fined half a billion dollars, and convicted while his followers are labeled extremists and threats to democracy.
All brought to you by officials in the current administration and their colleagues in local jurisdictions.
Now let’s isolate Saturday’s tragedy as a "one off," or an isolated incident.
The Secret Service that paired back support, cancelled drones and bomb dogs while inserting temporary agents simply had a bad day while a determined and deranged gun-loving son of Republicans sought his prey.
Sure, we get it.
And since it was just a bad day, it should raise zero concern that Director Kimberly Cheatle, would refuse to resign.
We have grown accustomed to bad days from the national security team starting with Afghanistan, followed by Ukraine, Israel, North Africa, China and of course the millions of fighting age men occupying our once sovereign land.
No resignations there either.
Since the swamp creatures have decided nothing will change following Saturday’s events, President Trump and his team must draw a sobering conclusion: This could happen again.
The swamp’s years long war on MAGA ("Basket of Deplorables") has placed anything with a D.C. stink on it as highly suspect. Why should the Secret Service be any different after the appalling antics of last Saturday?
Director Kimberly Cheatle has proven executive protection in the United States is a myth.
Executive protection applies to many more VIPs in government than presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Why wouldn’t President Biden immediately fire Cheatle, knowing that his and his family’s life is in her hands? Where is the demand from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for a full investigation?
Are they not consumers of what the Secret Service sells?
Team Trump must now carefully consider the risks of staying the course in campaign operations. The ingredients in Saturday’s recipe are still in the "soup;" therefore the danger of this happening again is very real.
Have we tipped our hand to foreign adversaries?
Didn’t Iran put President Trump and other U.S. officials on a hit list for the death of Gen. Qasem Soleimani in 2020?
Has the "keystone cops" (pun intended) mess last Saturday projected enough weakness to entice the mullahs to do something about their desire to execute American leaders
Dangerous days are these.
Our leaders, of all political perspectives, deserve the best security money can buy.
After all, we paid for it. Perilous times require the very best we have.
President Trump should request executive protection support from United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).
These professionals are our very best and second place is not even close. They have all sworn an oath to the Constitution "against all enemies foreign and domestic," free of allegiance to any administration. They did not work security for Pepsi and DEI is no more than a passing fad to our beloved "snake eaters."
With all President Trump has outlasted and endured, he certainly deserves the best when it comes to protecting his life, and the lives of his family.
It may be speculation, but it will likely be a long time before any member of the Trump family or his supporters trust the cubicle farm bureaucrats and their overlords of the swamp in D.C. with much of anything, let alone the life of the former president.
President Biden says that he has ordered an independent review and directed the Secret Service to provide Trump with the needed resources. Then he should be sympathetic to the trust deficit that is now present between the Team Trump and the Secret Service and honor a request for U.S. Special Forces support.
Under the status quo, Donald J. Trump is not safe, and neither are we.
Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt (retired) is a co-founder of Restore Liberty, a former deputy representative to NATO, a lifetime member on the Council on Foreign Relations, and a Newsmax contributor. The views presented are those of the author and do not represent the views of the U.S. government, U.S. Department of Defense, or its components. Read Gen. Holt's reports — More Here.