The attempted attack on Trump once again points to the US secret service
The act was not designated by the republican government as a special national security event, as revealed by the 'Washington Post'
WashingtonIn the basement of the Washington Hilton Hotel, where the White House Correspondents' Dinner was held on Saturday, there were numerous members of the executive cabinet. When the armed attacker crossed the prior security control and attempted to storm the room, the secret service quickly evacuated the American president, Donald Trump, and the vice president, J.D. Vance. But it was also found that another good handful of senior officials had to be escorted.
Among other government officials were Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth; FBI Director Kash Patel; Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent; Secretary of State Marco Rubio,and Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson. The concentration of senior officials in the same room left the country in a vulnerable situation, especially considering that the attacker, Cole Allen, was able to cross the control before being stopped. Reconstructions by American media show that the individual was stopped just before going down the stairs that led directly to the entrance of the room.
Beyond the vulnerable situation, the concentration of high-level institutional figures in the same room was unusual. The only event where the entire presidential cabinet is present is the State of the Union address to Congress, and, for security reasons, one of the secretaries does not attend. This is so that, in the event of an attack, there is someone left to lead the country.
When so many political authorities gather in the same place to fulfill official duties, as is the case with the State of the Union address, the event is usually classified as a special national security event. But, according to federal sources revealed to the Washington Post, this designation was not applied to Saturday's correspondents' dinner.
The alleged manifesto attributed to Collen, who is testifying for the first time in Washington before a federal court this Monday, targeted not only Trump but also all members of the executive who were present. The security levels established by the Trump administration were low in relation to the high concentration of authorities, which once again raises questions about how the U.S. secret service operates.
Criticisms and arguments
In 2024, when the two assassination attempts on Trump occurred, the secret service –which was then still under the Democratic administration of Joe Biden– was scrutinized. The then director of the body, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned in July, a few days after the Butler attack. Currently, the director of the secret service is Sean Curran, who was appointed to the position in January 2025 after Trump was inaugurated.
Furthermore, the secret service is under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which after Kristi Noem's dismissal is now led by Markwayne Mullin. The DHS has not yet commented on questions surrounding security management. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Sunday in an interview with CNN that, even though Collen managed to cross the checkpoint, the secret service's response had been "a complete success in terms of security." "I mean, if you think about what happened according to what we know right now, this suspect barely crossed the perimeter," Blanche said.
In an interview with Fox, FBI Director Kash Patel assured that the security perimeter set up by the secret service was "military-grade." Even so, he acknowledged that "we will have to talk about how we can improve security not only for this event, but also for all those that will happen in the future."
