Former President Donald Trump, speaking at a rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota on Saturday, praised the female Secret Service officer who risked her life to protect him during an assassination attempt that nearly took his life at a rally earlier this month.
The Secret Service has faced intense criticism since the incident for exposing Trump to gunfire from a nearby rooftop and for using a female agent who critics say was smaller than Trump and had a harder time handling the situation.
The appointment of female agents was blamed on “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) policies and has been heavily criticized by the Trump campaign and conservative movements, but Trump defended the agents who rushed to his side.
FILE – Former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents after an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday, July 13, 2024. Months before the assassination attempt, some Pennsylvania lawmakers had proposed outlawing the type of rifle used in the shooting. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
He expressed his gratitude during an ad-libbed portion of his speech.
All of them, none of them were slow. The woman on my right protected me. She was beautiful, and she did everything she could to protect me. She was criticized for being fake news, for being too short. You know, she was short. I’m tall, and she was short. And she was criticized. She was very brave, and she protected me with all her might. Bullets were flying, and she wanted to take the bullets. And all those guys.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who had refused to resign for weeks, resigned on July 23 after facing damning testimony about the incident before Congress.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of “Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” which is available for preorder on Amazon. He also wrote,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is the 2018 recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
