Donald Trump stated on Saturday that no one had alerted him to any issues prior to the former president's rally in Pennsylvania, where an attempted assassin shot him in the ear. "No one brought it up, no one indicated there was a problem. I would have been willing to wait 15 minutes, they could have suggested waiting 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 5 minutes, something. No one mentioned it," Trump told Fox News during an interview. "I believe that was an error," he added. "How did someone manage to get onto that roof? And why wasn't he reported?"
The Washington Post reported on Saturday that high-ranking officials at the US Secret Service consistently denied requests from Trump's security team for additional personnel and equipment at events leading up to the attempted assassination on July 13. The agency, tasked with protecting Trump, rejected these requests, citing at times a lack of resources, according to people familiar with the matter.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi has previously refuted allegations that the agency ignored requests for increased security resources from Trump's team. In an email statement to Reuters on Sunday, Guglielmi stated: "In instances where specific Secret Service specialized units or resources were not provided, the agency made adjustments to ensure the security of the protectee." "This might involve utilizing state or local partners to fulfill specialized functions or identifying alternatives to minimize public exposure of a protectee," Guglielmi added.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is scheduled to testify before the US House of Representatives Oversight Committee on July 22 for a hearing concerning the shooting.
