Another chilling security threat, another collective sigh of relief — and a stroke of good fortune: an alert Secret Service agent who spotted the barrel of a gun in the bushes and fired his own weapon at the threat while Donald Trump golfed in Florida on Sunday afternoon. Still, Ryan Wesley Routh should never have been able to get between 300 and 500 yards from the former president, armed with an SKS-style rifle.
By the Editorial Board
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw acknowledged that the area was not cordoned off because Mr. Trump is not receiving the level of protection he did when he was president. “If he was, we would have had the entire golf course surrounded,” Mr. Bradshaw said at a news conference. “Because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.”
This needs to change. Fifty days before a neck-and-neck election, after what are now two attempts on his life, Mr. Trump ought to get presidential-level coverage. Protecting Mr. Trump as he campaigns is as essential a part of ensuring political stability and continuity of government as one could imagine.
Acting Secret Service director Ronald L. Rowe Jr. defended the agency’s handling of the situation as “textbook,” noting that Mr. Routh never had Mr. Trump in his line of sight nor did he get off a shot. Mr. Rowe added that the agency had already significantly enhanced Mr. Trump’s security posture. “If we need to ratchet up additionally, we will,” he said.
It takes little imagination to recognize that the Secret Service has been stretched thin and agents overwhelmed for a long time. Serious questions remain following the July 13 assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., in which a 20-year-old sniper shot and wounded the former president and killed a rally attendee before the Secret Service returned fire and killed him. Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned in July. When Congress acts on a bill to fund the government this month, it should provide additional resources to help the agency fulfill its zero-fail mission.
Strong bipartisan support exists for doing so, even as it exists for investigating and correcting the Secret Service’s own shortcomings. President Joe Biden said he has directed his administration “to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former president’s continued safety.” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) announced legislation Monday to ensure that both major-party nominees receive the same level of Secret Service protection as a sitting president. “We are demanding in the House that he have every asset available,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on Fox News.
Mr. Routh, suspected of possibly trying to assassinate Mr. Trump, was charged Monday with possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. It appears that he had been staking out the golf course in anticipation that Mr. Trump would play a round on Sunday, as he often does. Court documents say his cellphone was at the scene in West Palm Beach, Fla., from about 1:59 a.m. until he fled after the Secret Service shot at him, around 1:31 p.m. Authorities recovered a loaded SKS-style, 7.62x39-caliber rifle with a scope.
Mr. Routh appears to be a deeply troubled man whose unstable mind jumps from one political fixation to another. He has expressed animosity toward Mr. Trump, for reasons ranging from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol to the former president’s abrogation of the Iran nuclear deal. He recently claimed to be recruiting volunteers to fight against Russia in Ukraine. He was previously convicted of possessing “a weapon of mass death and destruction” in 2002 and for possessing stolen goods in 2010. Vice President Kamala Harris and Mr. Biden unequivocally condemned political violence and said that they’re relieved Mr. Trump is okay. That — not indulging the temptation to use the news to one-up political opponents — is the only reasonable response.
We don’t envy the Secret Service. Its agents get little credit when, day in and day out, they successfully protect the nation’s leaders. Any slip-up could be disastrous. Yet sequestering candidates and incumbent politicians from the public would prevent voters from evaluating those who act in their name. Washington is tightly controlled by cordons and barriers that separate people from their government. Striking the right balance between security and access is not easy. But it is the job. Congress should ensure the Secret Service has the resources to do it.
