Former US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump claimed on Saturday that he received no prior warnings about potential security issues before a rally in Pennsylvania, where an attempted assassin shot him in the ear.
"Nobody mentioned it, nobody said there was a problem. I would've waited for 15; they could've said let's wait for 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 5 minutes, something. Nobody said," Donald Trump told Fox News in an interview.
"I think that was a mistake," he added. “How did somebody get on that roof? And why wasn't he reported?”
According to a report by The Washington Post on Saturday, top officials at the US Secret Service allegedly turned down multiple requests from Donald Trump's security team for additional workforce and equipment ahead of events leading up to an attempted assassination on 13 July.
The report also revealed that the agency cited resource shortages for denying these requests.
"This agency and the Secret Service have a zero-fail mission," said Kimberly Cheatle, the agency's director, in 2021 during a Secret Service podcast called “Standing Post.”
Now, the Secret Service and its director are under intense scrutiny over that "zero fail" mission following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a 13 July rally in Pennsylvania that wounded his ear.
When questioned about who holds the most significant responsibility for the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, Kimberly Cheatle pointed to the Secret Service. ultimately bears the most responsibility.
"The buck stops with me," Cheatle said. I am the director of the Secret Service." She said she had no plans to resign and had the administration's backing so far.
Bethel Park High School has responded to claims following the Pennsylvania rally shooting involving Thomas Matthew Crooks, the alleged shooter. Contradicting earlier reports, the school denied allegations that Crooks attempted to join the rifle team, was bullied, or made threats about a potential school shooting.
Former classmates of the suspect have claimed that Thomas Matthew Crooks was subjected to 'relentless' bullying during his time at school. This assertion is supported by a recently surfaced video showing instances of bullying directed at Crooks.
However, Bethel Park High School has dismissed these claims as a "painful misconception," stating that according to their records, Crooks excelled academically, had regular attendance, and had no disciplinary incidents related to bullying or threats.
