Former Secret Service agents Tim Miller and Scott Bryson say that the second assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump shows that it's time to clean house at the Secret Service and replace the agency's leadership.
"Well, that's the problem and, unfortunately, they're not held accountable," Miller said Tuesday during an appearance on Newsmax's "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE."
"These guys are fantastic agents, and they're doing everything they can, even at their own lives' risks, to go out there and do this every day. They deserve better leadership. When we're told that the Secret Service has corrected it, we've applied all the appropriate resources, we ought to be able to take that to the bank. That didn't happen, and I think the American people become more and more concerned about the ability of the mission, and that's what this is all about. It's the mission of the Secret Service to proactively prevent things like this from even happening, not waiting till the last minute and doing things that are reactive in nature."
Trump was playing golf at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday when a Secret Service agent spotted a gun barrel sticking out of a tree line.
The agent opened fire on the gunman, who was identified by law enforcement as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, before Routh had a chance to take a shot.
Routh fled the scene in his vehicle, but was arrested on I-95 in neighboring Martin County a short time later after a witness snapped a picture of his license plate and gave the information to authorities.
Bryson said Secret Service leadership needs to "100%" be cleaned out at the highest levels because "this is a serious job for serious people."
"I've worked for some guys in the past that were super old school, and I didn't like it at the time when I was a young agent, but now that I'm an older guy, I get it," he said. "I understand where they were coming from. … There's a standard. And whether it's Secret Service, FBI, or the police academy, there has to be a certain standard. I don't care if you're a man or a woman, straight or gay. The standard is the standard. If you meet the standard, you're on the team. If you don't, you're out."
Following the July 13 attempt on Trump's life in Butler, Pennsylvania, and Sunday's incident in Florida, Miller said, "I think the gloves have to come off here."
"This was another mission failure," he said. "Were it not for the heroic actions of a diligent, qualified, trained Secret Service agent to identify and go after this protectee, we would be having a very different conversation. But again, why weren't the resources applied?"
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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