Former President Donald Trump openly wondered how his security detail managed to miss numerous signs regarding the eventual assassination attempt that almost cost his life in an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters.
The attempt did cost the life of Trump supporter and hero Corey Comperatore, who died shielding his family with his body.
The presidential election frontrunner also focused on how the team tasked with protecting him managed to bungle securing the rooftop where the would-be assassin eventually camped out, an obvious location for an attack.
“It just shouldn’t have been when you have essentially a flat open roof like that and it’s direct at the target with absolutely nothing in its way,” he questioned. “How can somebody be up there? And he was up there for a long period of time.”
The rooftop Trump was referring to was not flat, but had a slight slope.
“You had Trumpers screaming, the woman in the red shirt, she was screaming ‘there’s a man on the roof’ and then other people said ‘there’s a man on the roof who’s got a gun’ and that was quite a bit before I walked on the stage, so you would’ve thought someone would’ve done something about it,” added Trump.
The fact that they didn’t do anything about it has left many critics bewildered.
RELATED: WATCH: Secret Service Director Confronted, Berated By Senators Over Trump Assassination Attempt
Trump On Security Failures: Corey Comperatore Would Still Be Alive
Trump, in the interview with Watters, was sure to suggest the issue was with local police and security despite his Secret Service unit clearly being at fault for the entire ordeal.
He questioned the officer who spotted the shooter on the rooftop and then reportedly “dropped” when the weapon used to shoot at Trump was pointed at him first.
“What did he do when he dropped off the roof?” asked Trump. “Did he just go away and say like, nothing?”
The GOP nominee suggested that had the security team reacted to the ample warnings, communicated effectively with others, and maybe waited to assess the situation before allowing him on stage, an innocent man would not have been killed at his rally.
“I wish somebody would’ve done that because (former fire Chief) Corey (Comperatore) would’ve been alive,” Trump said.
“Somebody should’ve made sure there was nobody on that roof. They said they didn’t have the manpower for it, which is crazy.”
????Donald Trump questions why the shooter was allowed to continue crawl on the roof and take a shot at him despite being pointed out to law enforcement by supporters in advance. pic.twitter.com/5O6G7Lqsn8
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 23, 2024
Calls For Answers From Secret Service
The Secret Service failed in a massive way here.
Various reports have discovered that Trump’s security team was understaffed, they failed to secure the rooftop from which Crooks was perched, and had multiple opportunities to step in and stop the attack.
It has also been recently reported that the shooter may have conducted drone surveillance of the target area and was identified as suspicious hours before the shooting due to an attempt to enter a secure area with a rangefinder, a device used to line up long-range shots for hunters.
Trump also blasted Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, under fire for allowing the assassination attempt to go off without a hitch, for her comments suggesting her elite security team couldn’t secure a building with a slightly sloped roof.
“It essentially was a flat roof, so somebody gave her false information when she spoke about the slope of the roof,” he said.
“I think clearly she needs to be more forthcoming,” Trump’s vice presidential running mate, JD Vance added.
Numerous lawmakers have demanded Cheatle resign after being in charge of one of the biggest Secret Service failures in the agency’s history.
