The attempted assassination Saturday of former President Donald Trump and what some critics see as a harried response by some of the female agents on his detail are spurring new scrutiny of the Secret Service’s focus on diversity hires.
Social media on Sunday was awash with pointed criticism of the female agents, who in videos and photos seemed to be slow to cover Mr. Trump during the chaotic shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Guys is it just me or is the agent who cowered behind DJT instead of protecting him the same one who couldn’t holster her gun?
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 14, 2024
Who is she?
She needs to resign or be fired. pic.twitter.com/WEmjLPQFLd
Other images seemed to show the female agents were too short to properly shield the Republican front-runner once he stood up. Mr. Trump stands 6 feet, 3 inches tall.
As Mr. Trump was loaded into his getaway vehicle, one of the female agents was seen struggling to holster her pistol.
Watching the ladies at work here. pic.twitter.com/ySuIw78VfR
— Sharyl Attkisson  (@SharylAttkisson) July 14, 2024
Rep. Tim Burchett, Tennessee Republican, said on X late Saturday that “I can’t imagine that a DEI hire from Pepsi would be a bad choice as the head of the Secret Service. #sarcasm.”
The comment referenced U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s position as head of security for Pepsi before she was named the Secret Service director in 2022.
Ms. Cheatle served in the Secret Service for 27 years before joining Pepsi.
The security lapses at the Trump rally also brought the Secret Service director’s stated interest in hiring more nonwhite, nonmale agents into the spotlight.
“I’m very conscious, as I sit in this chair now, of making sure that we need to attract diverse candidates, ensure that we are developing opportunities for everybody in our workforce, and particularly women,” Ms. Cheatle told CBS News in an interview last year.
The report said the Secret Service’s goal is that 30% of its recruits are women by 2030.
Rep. James Comer, Kentucky Republican and chair of the House Oversight Committee, will have Ms. Cheatle testify before Congress on July 22 in the wake of the deadly rally shooting.
The FBI identified the suspected gunman as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
Authorities said the gunman positioned himself on a rooftop over 400 feet away and opened fire on the crowd with a rifle.
Secret Service agents shot and killed the suspect quickly after the bullets rang out.
Mr. Trump was treated for his graze wound and released from the hospital late Saturday night.
Rally attendee Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed in the shooting. He was a former fire chief of Buffalo Township in Pennsylvania.
Two other men are in critical condition after being hit by gunfire at the rally.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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