Eric Trump, still reeling from the shocking attempt on his father’s life, is demanding an explanation.
“The director of the Secret Service needs to be asked some really tough questions because this should never happen again,” Eric Trump told Fox News Digital. “We don’t know if there was a screw-up or an oversight on the part of local officials. They need to get to the bottom of it because we as a country are not supposed to do this.”
The Trump Organization executive, who first heard about the shooting while sitting on the couch with his wife and children, questioned how the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to be so close to his father.
“It’s unthinkable,” he said, “that someone with a rifle should be within 130 yards of a former president and probably a current president. It should never happen again.”
FBI accesses Thomas Matthew Crooks’ phone in Trump assassination attempt
Eric Trump (Win McNamee/Getty Images/File)
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle faced fierce criticism on Tuesday when she told ABC News that officers were not stationed on the roof of the building where the shooter was stationed because a “sloping roof” posed a safety risk to officers. She called the assassination attempt “unacceptable” but refused to resign.
Eric Trump, an experienced marksman, said Crooks had his father in direct line of sight and could have easily killed him.
“I’m also angry at the people on the stage. They could have all been shot. All the agents could have been dead. There was a person 130 yards away, on high ground, with a rifle. I’m also angry at them.”
“That’s the easiest shot,” he said. “I’m a competitive shooter and I’ve been all my life. It’s like Tiger Woods making a three-inch putt. It doesn’t happen. It’s only by the grace of God that he’s alive.”
Trump, who is scheduled to speak in front of his father at the Republican National Convention on Thursday, said his anger was directed at the failure of security around the Pennsylvania event, not at the Secret Service agents who flanked the former president.
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“The people onstage were fantastic,” he said. “I know them personally and as friends. They are great people and would have taken a bullet for him. What happened at the border was not their fault.”
Trump said agents at the podium were focused on monitoring the crowd approaching the stage and whether there were any armed individuals in the immediate vicinity — distant threats were beyond their jurisdiction, he said.
“I’m also angry at the people who were on the stage,” he said. “They could have all been hit by bullets. All the agents could have been dead. There was a person 130 yards away, on high ground, with a rifle. I’m also angry at them.”
He added that if the assassination attempt had been successful, it would have sent shock waves through the country.
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This diagram shows the location of a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the vantage point of a potential assassin. (Fox News)
“It would have been the greatest stain on America,” he said. “There would have been divine intervention.”
While Trump was grateful that his father survived, he also mourned the death of former fire chief Corey Comperatore, who was shot and killed by Crooks’ crossfire.
“It’s tragic. It’s beyond tragic,” he said. “A man who loved Trump has lost his life. I’ve never had a problem at a rally. A rally is the safest place to be.”
Trump said surviving Saturday’s attack had dramatically tilted the momentum in his father’s direction and made a return to the White House now inevitable.
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Authorities are closing in on the dead shooter following Saturday’s attempted assassination of former President Trump. (Source: Fox News Digital)
“The atmosphere is great,” he said. “We are winning everything. I feel the pendulum has swung. We will win on November 5th. There’s no question about it.”
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President Trump congratulated his father on his return to public life so soon after the shooting and praised him for attending the Republican National Convention on Monday.
“I’m just so proud of him. He’s the toughest guy I’ve ever met,” he said. “He’s an incredible person and I think the whole country saw that this week.”
