Calls for Secret Service protection for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. were rekindled Saturday following the near-assassination attempt on former President Trump at a weekend rally in Pennsylvania.
Kennedy, who is running for president against President Trump and Biden, said his request for Secret Service protection last year was denied.
He repeatedly pointed to the assassination of his father, former Attorney General Robert Kennedy, an independent presidential candidate. Claims He is at high risk due to his family history. He is also the nephew of former President Kennedy.Assassinated in 1963.
Shortly after a shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, that injured the former president and killed one attendee, politicians on both sides of the aisle stressed the need for Kennedy to receive Secret Service protection.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, called on the Biden administration on Saturday night to grant Kennedy’s request for protection.
“I encourage president Provide immediate Secret Service protectionRobert Kennedy“ Polis wrote to X.
The Secret Service The authority to protect Within 120 days of the presidential election, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with an advisory committee of House and Senate leadership, will select the primary candidates for president and vice president and their spouses. The Secretary of Homeland Security will determine which candidates fall into the “primary” category.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk said it was “unacceptable” that Kennedy’s request had been denied.
“Attention: RFK Jr. needs Secret Service protection. Urgent. It is completely unacceptable that it is being hidden, especially given his family history.” He wrote on Saturday, X.
Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer issued a similar statement. Write on X The Biden administration should have provided Kennedy with Secret Service security protection “a long time ago.”
Following the shooting, Kennedy called on Americans to set aside political differences and pray for Trump.
“Now is the time for all Americans who love our country to turn away from division, renounce all violence and pray for President Trump and his family,” he said. Post to X.
Gunfire erupted at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday night, during which Trump said a bullet pierced his ear. The gunman, identified by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks, and one rally attendee were killed. Two other attendees were seriously injured, according to the Secret Service.
Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Pittsburgh, said authorities have not yet determined a motive for the shooting.
A few hours after the shooting,Trump was grateful.The president praised the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies for their “swift response to this shooting” and offered his condolences to the families of those killed and injured in the incident.
