(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) During a July 15, 2024, ABC interview, U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said that she would not be stepping down from her position, even though she was responsible for the protection of Donald Trump, who was almost murdered on July 13, 2024.
Cheatle also called the assassination attempt against Trump “unacceptable,” the Daily Caller reported.
The assassination attempt also resulted in the death of former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore and two other crowd members, 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver, who are now in stable condition.
After being criticized for failing to defend Trump, Cheatle sat down with ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas. After the attack, Cheatle said she had been shocked and concerned for Trumpt before noting the attempt to take his life “should’ve never happened.”
She then acknowledged that she was ultimately responsible for last weekend’s tragic event.
“The buck stops with me. I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary. It was unacceptable and it’s something that shouldn’t happen again,” Cheatle said.
After the attack happened, Republican lawmakers demanded Cheatle to explain how the agency failed to prevent the attack in the first place. In addition to that, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and billionaire Elon Musk called for her to step down.
However, despite acknowledging that she was the one who was ultimately responsible for the assassination attempt, Cheatle said that she doesn’t plan to resign.
Cheatle also confirmed during the interview that the agency had been working with local law enforcement to secure the area during the July 13, 2024, Pennsylvania rally, with the agency in control of the inner perimeter.
“In this particular instance, we did share support for that particular site and that the Secret Service was responsible for the inner perimeter. And then, we sought assistance from our local counterparts for the outer perimeter. There was local police in that building — there was local police in the area that were responsible for the outer perimeter of the building,” she said.
