Donald Trump’s campaign has reportedly paused outdoor rallies after he was shot at an event in Butler County, Pennsylvania, earlier this month.
Two sources familiar with Trump’s presidential campaign have told NBC News that his team has made the decision to hold indoor rallies. The sources indicated that some possibly smaller outdoor rallies could still go ahead as well as rallies in outdoor venues with entrances that are easy to secure and where there is no nearby high ground, such as stadiums.
The Secret Service has come under significant pressure for failing to stop Thomas Matthew Crooks from climbing onto a roof nearby Trump’s rally in Butler County on 13th July and taking several shots at him.
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In the wake of the attacks conspiracy theories spread on both sides of the political spectrum, with some on the left claiming Trump staged the attack while social media users on the right claimed the attack was ordered by Democratic leaders. Users on Trump’s Truth Social are already claiming, without evidence, that the Trump campaign’s decision to move rallies indoors was orchestrated by president Biden to limit his rival’s reach.
Rogan O’Handley, who has 570,000 followers, posted on Truth Social that “the Biden regime wants [Trump] to stop holding giant rallies that show his popularity. And now they’re kind of threatening him, ‘Don’t have huge rallies… or you might get hurt.’”
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday after apologizing for failing to protect Trump.
On the same day Trump told Newsmax that his campaign had been asking the Secret Services for increased resources prior to the attack. But when asked if he felt safe he said, “Yeah, I have to feel safe. Otherwise, I guess, I wouldn’t be able to do this stuff.”
Trump has also taken aim at Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing them of failing to protect him. “The Biden/Harris Administration did not properly protect me,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“I was forced to take a bullet for Democracy,” he added.
