In her first network interview since the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said that the Pennsylvania rally shooting was “unacceptable.”
“It was unacceptable,” she said in an interview Monday with ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas. “And it’s something that shouldn’t happen again.”
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle sat down with ABC News in her first network interview since the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
ABC News
The violent incident on Saturday, which left one rallygoer dead, marked the first time a current or former president has been wounded in an attempted assassination since Ronald Reagan in 1981.
When she first learned of the shooting, Cheatle said she was shocked and concerned — both for Trump and for the Secret Service agents who responded to the incident.
“It was obviously a situation that as a Secret Service agent, no one ever wants to occur in their career,” she said.
As the head of the agency, Cheatle said it’s her responsibility to investigate what went wrong and make sure nothing like it can happen again.
“The buck stops with me,” she said. “I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary.”
Cheatle responded to reports that the suspect was seen and identified as potentially suspicious before he opened fire, saying that “a very short period of time” passed between then and the shooting.
“I don’t have all the details yet, but it was a very short period of time,” she said. “Seeking that person out, finding them, identifying them, and eventually neutralizing them took place in a very short period of time, and it makes it very difficult.”
Cheatle also said that local authorities were tasked with securing the building where the alleged shooter fired the shots before being taken out by a Secret Service sniper, and confirmed that local police were present inside the building while the shooter was on the roof.
“In this particular instance, we did share support for that particular site and that the Secret Service was responsible for the inner perimeter,” Cheatle said. “And then we sought assistance from our local counterparts for the outer perimeter. There was local police in that building — there was local police in the area that were responsible for the outer perimeter of the building.”
Cheatle said she has reached out to Trump but has not yet spoken with him.
In the days since the attack, Cheatle and the Secret Service have faced heightening scrutiny for failing to prevent the incident from happening, and even calls from some to resign.
Cheatle said she would not resign from her role.
She is expected to testify before the GOP-led House Oversight Committee next Monday, July 22.
The Director of the United States Secret Service, James Murray, has condemned the recent shooting at a rally for former President Donald Trump as “unacceptable” and vowed to investigate the incident thoroughly.
The shooting occurred on Saturday evening at a rally in Florence, Arizona, where Trump was speaking to a crowd of supporters. A man in the audience reportedly fired several shots into the air before being tackled by security personnel and taken into custody. No one was injured in the incident, but it has raised concerns about the safety of political events in the current climate of heightened tensions and political polarization.
In a statement following the shooting, Director Murray expressed his outrage at the violence and emphasized that the Secret Service is committed to protecting the safety of all individuals at political events, regardless of their political beliefs.
“Violence has no place in our society, and it is absolutely unacceptable for anyone to resort to such extreme measures at a political rally,” Murray said. “We will be conducting a thorough investigation into this incident to determine how it was able to occur and what steps can be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.”
The Secret Service is responsible for protecting the President, Vice President, and other high-ranking government officials, as well as investigating threats against them. The agency has faced increased scrutiny in recent years due to a number of security breaches and incidents involving its agents.
The shooting at the Trump rally serves as a reminder of the potential dangers faced by public figures and the need for heightened security measures at political events. It also highlights the importance of maintaining a peaceful and respectful discourse in our society, even in the midst of intense political disagreements.
As Director Murray and his team work to investigate the shooting and ensure the safety of future events, it is crucial for all individuals to remember the importance of civility and respect in our political discourse. Violence is never the answer, and it is up to all of us to work towards a more peaceful and inclusive society.
