Column By Mike Bibb
In addition to all the rigamarole involving Donald Trump over the past seven or eight years, it now appears he’s become a shooting target for anyone needing a little practice.
During the last two months, former President Trump has been the victim of two assassination attempts. The first occurred while he was speaking at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The shooter was killed by Secret Service personnel after Trump had been wounded.
The second incident involved a shooter hiding in a hedge row bordering his golf course in Florida. Luckily, the Secret Service discovered the suspect – fired at him – then chased and arrested him after he left the scene in a vehicle.
What’s troubling about these two cases can be reduced to a single premise: How did the Secret Service fail to discover and prevent the intended murder of a President before the event took place?
We know this much – both shooters were in the same vicinity of the President for several hours before Trump made his appearance. Both shooters were equipped with rifles, not handguns, indicating they willfully fired or intended to shoot Trump from several hundred yards away. Both shooters were positioned within the kill range of the rifles.
Only by pure luck, poor marksmanship, or an act of God did both assassins fail in their mission. The Secret Service, the designated protector of the President, has now twice botched their primary assignment – to protect the President.
Why is this happening?
Of course, the usual excuse is “Former Presidents are not given the same amount of protection as current Presidents.”
Or “There’s insufficient personnel to provide equal protection to everyone assigned SS security.”
Or “The Secret Service budget isn’t adequate to financially support additional personnel.”
Or “Trump is an anomaly. He’s a former President campaigning for reelection. He is not, technically, entitled to the degree of protection as a sitting President.”
All four explanations ring hollow. The United States government has an annual budget of more than $6 trillion and continually prints and borrows trillions more because it always spends more than it takes. Yet, we’re supposed to believe there isn’t enough money to hire a few more SS people.
Good grief, they’ve gotta come up with a better reason than that.
Independent Presidential candidate, Robert Kennedy Jr., found this out when he was denied enhanced SS security. Even though both his father and uncle were assassinated in the 1960s.
What is going on here? More specifically, why is Trump being stalked by would-be killers while previous living Presidents are not reporting similar attempts on their lives? Bush, Carter, Clinton, and Obama regularly appear at public and private events without bullets whizzing through their ears or shooters hiding in the shrubs.
At least, none we’ve heard of.
To me – and maybe others – Trump is, indeed, an anomaly. He’s not cut from the usual political cloth.
His entire brief career in Washington has been one controversy after another. Investigations upon investigations, impeachments, Jan. 6 accusations, indictments, trials, convictions and assassination attempts have become a daily part of his life.
Hell, the guy can’t even play a round of golf without risk being shot at.
Adding to the fun, his primary opponent in November’s election was suddenly – and without prior notice – removed as a candidate. Replacing him was Joe’s Vice President who didn’t stump for the job, never received a single Primary Election vote, and had no opposition during the National Democrat Convention in August.
Kamala was simply installed without all the hoopla and fanfare of a campaign. Apparently, her only requirement is that she could read from a teleprompter without stumbling over the words. Whether or not her speeches make any sense isn’t relevant.
So, here we are. While Trump dodges bullets and judges, Kamala remains mostly secluded, giving few interviews and a single televised debate. Her TV ads brag of successes as a former California prosecutor and U.S. Senator, but reality says otherwise.
One thing in her favor, at least no one’s shooting at her. Which Trump can’t say. However, being a former Commander-in-Chief of the military, maybe he qualifies for a Purple Heart medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters.
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author.
