- The failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump on Saturday left his ears bleeding.
- Former Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy compared the incident to the 1981 Reagan shooting.
- McCarthy said the Secret Service failed to protect Trump despite its best efforts.
A former Secret Service agent says the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was a “failure” of his security team.
Tim McCarthy, who in 1981 defended President Ronald Reagan from a gunman, gave his assessment of Saturday’s shooting to Chicago-based television station WGN-TV.
“It was a failure. It’s that simple,” McCarthy said. “When President Regan was shot, that was a failure.”
“Any time a protected person is harmed, something has to change,” he added. “You have to look critically at what happened, why it happened, and how it can be prevented in the future.”
However, he said the service had done “almost everything humanly possible” to prevent potential attacks, but “nothing is completely secure anywhere in the world.”
Trump was speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania when the shooting occurred. He was seen raising his fist defiantly as his ear bled before being escorted from the scene by Secret Service.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said a bullet had “gone through the top” of his right ear.
The FBI has identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed during the demonstration.
McCarthy, who reportedly retired from the Secret Service in 1993, said he did not have intimate details about Trump’s security detail, but said it was likely “very close” to what President Joe Biden received.
He said that for a president, security teams would sweep the area and secure the building while blocking the view with “various types of shields” such as campaign signs or banners. They would also rearrange podiums to block views from outside the secured area.
“Now, in some cases, that’s nearly impossible to do, but that’s why the Secret Service has anti-sniper teams. You’re watching buildings that will have a general idea of where the protected person is going to be,” he added.
In this case, he said the counter-sniper team “clearly or probably” did not see the shooter.
As a last resort, the agent protects the protected person from attack.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement that “DHS and the Secret Service are working closely with law enforcement partners to respond to and investigate the shooting.”
“We are working closely with President Biden, former President Trump, and their campaigns and taking every step possible to ensure their safety and security.”
While the assassination attempt may result in “less public visibility for former President Trump,” McCarthy doubts it will deter him too much from his scheduled exit.
The Secret Service “probably had to hold back to prevent it from getting out to the public right away,” he said.
And Trump has signaled his intention to make another public appearance.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump thanked people for their “thoughts and prayers” after the attack, and said he looked forward “to addressing our Great Country this week from Wisconsin,” where the Republican National Convention will be held.
