Posted on 10/14/2015 1:13:03 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The Donald gave a wide ranging interview to The Hill yesterday which was particularly notable for one comment he made about the Secret Service. Since he’s the frontrunner by a wide margin, where is his detail?
Donald Trump on Tuesday said the Secret Service should be giving him protection — and he suggested partisan politics might be why the agency isn’t providing it.
In a 90-minute interview with The Hill, the Republican presidential front-runner pointed out that he has attracted large crowds just like Barack Obama did eight years ago as a White House candidate and that by this point in the 2008 cycle, the Illinois senator had Secret Service protection.
Trump doesn’t, and he’s not happy about it.
“I want to put them on notice because they should have a liability,” he said. “Personally, I think if Obama were doing as well as me he would’ve had Secret Service [earlier]. I have by far the biggest crowds.”
It sounds like an odd question until you consider that he’s right about Barack Obama. The current President had a Secret Service detail at the beginning of May in the year before his first election. We’re nearly six months further into this cycle and they haven’t proactively approached Trump about it. It’s worth noting that in 2007 there were only two candidates in serious contention at this point as measured by the polls and Hillary Clinton already had a security detail by virtue of being the former First Lady. Trump is in first place but it’s a crowded field with a lot of big names in it, so I’m not sure how many details they can afford to dole out. (I’m not making any excuses for the Secret Service here… just noting that they have limits to their resources like anyone else.)
Trump already has his own security team, though I’m not sure how they stack up against the Secret Service. Then again, we’re talking about the same people who can’t seem to manage locking the White House door or keeping drones off the lawn, so Trump’s team might actually be better. For their part, the agency is saying that they never received a request from Trump for coverage and if they’d gotten one it would have been reviewed under the same process as anyone else. Perhaps Trump wasn’t aware that he could file a formal request?
One other highlight from the interview was when Donald defended his previous support for a single payer health care system.
“People think this is not traditionally Republican, but I think it is because I don’t want to see people dying on the streets and neither do other Republicans want to see that,” Trump said.
He added that policymakers cannot let people die “because they don’t have money.”
“I’m not a conservative that wants to take care of 60 percent of the people and let the other 40 percent rot in hell,” Trump said. “That’s not going to be me. You can’t do that and I don’t think most Republicans want to do that either.”
Trump’s been promising to put out his health care plan for a while now, but as of this morning it’s still not up on his website. We won’t bother debating the tidbits he’s dropped on that subject so far until we actually have it in hand, but if he’s basically planning on expanding Obamacare then it’s sure to be a lively discussion indeed.
Your better off with retired Navy Seals as personal Guards
just pay them then bill the Government.
I wouldn’t trust Hussein’s well-culled and groomed SS at all.
This is troubling to me.
I sure hope Trump is just snarking at Obama.
The Sec Serv has been transformed into a spy squad for the regime.
Any Republican would be crazy to let them get anywhere near the campaign.
It would also make a GREAT campaign statement.
“No Obama govt goons for me, and wait until Jan 2017 when I clean out that bunch of reprobates.”
“I’m not a conservative...”
He could have just ended the sentence right there.
I wouldn’t trust the SS, I would trust my own security...better trained and looking out for him...
JFK trusted the SS and look where that got him.....
Also with Ronald Reagan....
SS isn’t all that good...
Yes Obama got his detail because he was smart clean and articulate hell he even was the first to have an office Office of President Elect
Trust me Donald you do not want Obama’s New Secret Service personnel anywhere near you
Here is his out...
http://www.secretservice.gov/about/faqs/
The Secret Service DOES NOT determine who qualifies for protection, nor is the Secret Service empowered to independently initiate candidate protection.
Under 18 U.S.C.’ 3056(a)(7), “[m]ajor Presidential and Vice Presidental candidates,” as identified by the Secretary of Homeland Security, are eligible for Secret Service protection.
Title 18 U.S.C.’ 3056(a)(7) authorizes the U.S. Secret Service to provide protection for major presidential and vice presidential candidates:
Protection is authorized by the DHS Secretary after consultation with the Congressional Advisory Committee
The Congressional Advisory Committee includes: Speaker of the House, House Minority Leader, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, and one additional member selected by the others
Criteria have been established to assist the DHS Secretary and the advisory committee in their decision making (as of 2008). Candidates must:
Be publically announced
Have some degree of prominence as shown by opinion polls
Be actively campaigning and entered in at least 10 state primaries
Be seeking the nomination of a qualified party
Have qualified for matching funds in the amount of at least $100,000
Have received contributions totaling $10 million
Title 18 U.S.C.’ 3056(a)(7) states that the U.S. Secret Service is also authroized to protect spouses of major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates, as identified by the DHS Secretary, within 120 days of the general Presidential election. Some candidates have received protection earlier in the campaign pursuant to Presidential memoranda.
According to above post, Trump has to receive contributions totaling $10M.
Since he’s self-funding, I don’t know if he’s met that requirement.
When did he request Secret Service protection?
A conservative who wants to take care of 100% of the people. How charming!
Don’t let any of Obola’s henchmen anywhere near you, Mr. Trump.
Yes, once the next conservative gets in, he or she really really really REALLY needs to begin cleaning house.
Not just in the Secret Service, but in the departments of State and Defense.
Donald, of all people, needs protection.
He’s making evil rats heads explode by telling Americans the truth.
They’d just love to assassinate him.
I agree. Especially with all of their mis-steps over the past few years. Then there's the effect of six years of the Obama presidency. Haven't most of the US security and military personnel been compromised and diminished?
Wash DC....Chicago style.
I pretty much believe both Cruz and Trump understand this and won’t be fooled.
SS no longer require background checks. 0bama stopped that.
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