A devastating poll has found that just 30% of Americans trust the Secret Service. The survey was conducted by the Associate Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs in the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Trump in Pennsylvania in July. Just three in ten voters said they are confident that the Secret Service can keep Presidents and Presidential candidates safe, with seven in ten adding that the federal agency is at least partly responsible for the Butler, Pennsylvania incident, in which one person died, and others suffered serious injuries.
The Secret Service has been under intense scrutiny since the Trump shooting, and investigations have shown that agents were aware of the presence of a suspicious individual more than 90 minutes before the assassination attempt took place. Recently published details include revelations that law enforcement officers spotted 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks at 4.26 pm, and a photo of him sitting at a nearby picnic table was shared in a Secret Service WhatsApp group at 5.38 pm. Crooks opened fire at 6.11 pm, killing local volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore and injuring Mr. Trump as well as 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver.
Investigations into the incident are ongoing, but the Secret Service was primarily held responsible when lawmakers grilled its former Director, Kimberly Cheatle. Ms. Cheatle acknowledged that her agency had failed in its duties but resisted initial calls to resign. However, she stepped down in the days following her Congressional grilling and was replaced by law enforcement veteran Ronald Rowe.
Some respondents to the Associated Press survey placed the blame for the attempted assassination on other factors, with some saying the wide availability of guns was ultimately responsible. Mr. Crooks used an AR-15 rifle to try to kill the former President, which he lawfully purchased from his father. He had also amassed bomb-making equipment and bought 50 rounds of ammunition on the day of the Butler rally. Crooks’ motive remains unknown.
Other survey respondents placed the blame on widening political divisions in America, while just one-third expressing confidence that federal agencies would fairly investigate the assassination attempt.
Republican and Democrat supporters unsurprisingly view the matter differently, with 60% of Democrats blaming guns, compared to around one-third of independents and 15% of Democrats. Of those who believe the Secret Service is primarily to blame, half are Republicans, and roughly 40% are Democrats or Independents.
The Secret Service was created to investigate currency counterfeiting during the Civil War. It began informally protecting the President in 1894, and in 1901, following the assassination of William McKinley, Congress requested that the Service take on this role full-time. In 1950, protection was extended to family members and Vice Presidents following the death of an agent while protecting President Truman in 1950. Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates from major parties received protection in 1968, after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.
In response to the Trump shooting in Pennsylvania, President Biden ordered the Secret Service to extend its protections and include current Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
