Senior security experts slammed Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Saturday for failing to protect former President Trump, saying the agency needs to clean up its interior, especially following her “sloping roof” excuse.
Bill Stanton, who has worked at the scene for 40 years, disputed Cheatle’s assertion that investigators did not place a nearby roof used by shooter Thomas Crooks because it was sloped.
The would-be assassin climbed to the roof of the building and fired several shots, wounding President Trump and killing rally attendee Corey Comperatore, as well as seriously injuring two others.
“Her explanation that the roof had collapsed on her and it was dangerous is the equivalent of a grade school student saying the dog ate her homework,” Stanton said. “How can anyone, regardless of political affiliation, give such an explanation?”
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pumps his fist after a bullet grazed his ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker)
Stanton said Trump was certainly close to death and that Cheatle would be entirely responsible.
“You can only pray to God that the bullet had missed by an inch to the right and actually killed the former president,” he said. “Was she going to make the excuse that she still had a job because the roof was too sloped?”
“This is a huge mistake. If only the president had paid attention, this could have been avoided as a national disaster.”
Stanton said Crooks could never have taken positions so close to Trump’s and said Cheatle’s logic was unconvincing.
“I want to see a holistic security plan,” he said. “The fact that the perpetrator got so close, the embarrassment of police officers allegedly being inside the building when they should have been on the roof.”
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President Trump (left) and Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle are hurriedly escorted off stage after the assassination attempt. (Getty Images)
Stanton said the agency’s misconduct was so serious that firing was warranted.
“If this doesn’t result in the firing of employees after a thorough investigation, I don’t know what will happen. How many mistakes can we make? Our president, our former president, was almost assassinated because of inefficiency,” he said.
He said Cheatle should have already offered to resign once it was deemed safe for Trump to serve.
He also argued that Cheatle’s emphasis on diversity over merit in his office led to Saturday’s fiasco.
“She’s focused on diversity and equitable inclusion and not on having the right agents in the places they should be,” he said.
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Corey Comperatore was the rally attendee killed in the attempted assassination of former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. (Facebook)
Several protesters and police officers spotted Crooks on the roof, but he was able to fire his gun before being fatally wounded.
“This is a huge mistake,” Stanton said. “If only the president would pay attention, this would not have become a national disaster.”
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Cheatle previously served as senior director of global security at PepsiCo.
Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.
