Just hours after Donald Trump narrowly escaped assassination, Secret Service agents and local police went into overdrive securing Trump Tower and the site of this week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Photos from both sites showed an influx of rifle-toting officers securing the facilities, with New York City Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy announcing security at Trump Tower was beefed up out of an abundance of caution—not because of a particular threat.
Mayor Eric Adams added himself that he was “surging officers to certain sites across” the city, with Trump Tower undoubtedly among them.
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A security worker helps put up a fence outside Fiserv Forum, where the RNC begins Monday.
GettyIn Milwaukee, where more than 50,000 politicians, delegates, and media personnel will convene for the RNC starting Monday, there have been “several perimeters” and TSA bag scanners put in place that attendees must pass through before getting a glimpse at its stage.
No firearms will be permitted for attendees, and other security measures include K-rail barriers and metal barricades closing each block around Fiserv Arena in downtown. Fox News reported from the scene that “police can be seen all over,” with routine helicopter flyovers and heavily armed officers patrolling.
While securing the convention is surely quite the headache, organizers aren’t suffering from a lack of funding. Both national party conventions had their federal security budget boosted from $50 million in 2020 to $75 million each this summer.
Concrete blockades have been put in place on all blocks surrounding Fiserv Forum, where the RNC begins Monday.
Scott Olson/GettyDespite Saturday’s tragedy, which left a rally attendee dead, the Republican National Committee indicated it had no plans to change its convention schedule. The injured Trump, who was briefly hospitalized for observation, is still expected to appear in person to receive his party’s nomination a third time.
It’s a trying time for the Secret Service, with scores of politicians, like Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), calling for heads to roll at the agency after it failed to spot 20-year-old Thomas Crooks on a nearby roof before he opened fire and bloodied Trump’s ear.
“The assassination attempt on President Trump and murder of an innocent American demands immediate answers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Secret Service,” said Scott, who added that it’s a “miracle” that Trump is still alive.
A bloodied Donald Trump raises his fist seconds after he was shot in the ear by a 20-year-old gunman.
Brendan McDermid/ReutersTrump, 78, hardly appeared fazed by his near-death experience, though he chillingly detailed in a statement that he “felt the bullet ripping through” the skin on his ear. Still bloodied, he was photographed with a fist raised as Secret Service rushed him off the Pennsylvania rally stage.
“I truly love our Country, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from Wisconsin,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Sunday.
