Yesterday, in response to a post suggesting that President Biden should pardon former President Trump if he really is interested in uniting this country, I received several sexist comments laying blame at the feet of female Secret Service agents who are portrayed as too short, too fat or just plain incompetent. Here's one of the comments: "Did anyone else notice the girls pretending to be secret service agents? Two were fat. Both were too short to provide the secret service "meat shield" on such a tall candidate. One kept pleading "what are we doing? What are we doing?" The men seemed to know without asking. The one fatty couldn't holster her weapon until the fifth try." Well, according to former Secret Service agent Mike McCarthy, who took a bullet for President Reagan in 1981, the agents did exactly what they are trained to do - cover and evacuate.
I suspect each of these female agents is fit and have BMIs under 25. I also watched video of several state troopers in the aftermath of the shooting, including a sergeant who was male but definitely was incredibly overweight. I doubt he could run 100 yards. Then there's a male Butler Township police officer who actually confronted Trump's would be-assassin several seconds before the shooting. He not only retreated, but failed to take any action to alert anyone in law enforcement that a potential killer was on the rooftop. This officer could have fired his own gun into the ground to alert Secret Service sharpshooters that mischief was afoot. He allowed a few crucial seconds to go by, and that was all the time needed for a killer to open up on Trump and innocent people.
Interestingly, a local counter-sniper unit was actually inside the building in which an assassin climbed up onto the roof and unleashed a hail of bullets that killed and wounded.
51 comments:
What happened on Saturday was the re-election of President Trump. Up and down the ballot, Dems will have major issues. Swing voters are going towards the R’s!!!!!!
No need to make sexist or body shame attacks. That is just ignorant. It is fair to access what we all saw. The young women, particularly the very short one was confused and appeared panicked and unable to secure her weapon. As to out of shape cops, you will get no argument from me. Many of those guys would be hard pressed to walk half a mile.
Still with a very tall candidate like Trump it makes no sense to have very short agents, man or woman covering him. Assign them to children or spouses.
Also, since the Kennedy assassination the Secret Service has always secure the high ground and obscured line of sight. So, someone screwed up and hopefully we learn a useful lesson. America cannot handle such an attempt. Stop the violence.
A woman’s place is in the home. Barefoot and pregnant.
That was not an elite protective unit that got Trump off of that stage and into his SUV.
Kudos to them for being willing to take a bullet. But I watched the video 10+ times and it was an uninspiring, chaotic shit show from start to finish.
And make no mistake, the two soccer moms with bouncing ponytails and third chubster who couldn’t holster her pistol inspire zero confidence should similar incidents arise.
I wouldn’t pay any of them, including the men, 25 cents to protect my truck in a grocery store parking lot.
Leaving Trump standing upright and on stage for as long as they did is inexcusable. His extraction should have been instant.
Unfortunately Bernie, we live in a patriarchy, where misogyny is prevalent and ingrained in the less educated. It’s hurting us as a society and a country. The acronym “DEI” has been hijacked by the right as another derogatory term used to dismiss the importance of inclusivity. Patriarchy needs to be deconstructed and dismantled because it hurts us all.
Look. I just pointed out two things. One of the Agents appeared to be struggling a little with the situation. You can have all the training in the world but you never really know how someone is going to react when the shit hits the fan. Trust me I know first hand. She had trouble reholstering her weapon , which should be muscle memory after countless days on the range. Overall I thought they did ok. They’ll run the tape and learn from it. These are people willing to take a bullet for someone else so I’m not going to be too hard on them. Some of the posts were harsh I thought. My only other observation was that 4 of the Agents, 3 of which were female, were smaller people trying to cover up 6’ 3” fat guy. Gender really has no bearing here in my view, just physical stature, Trump likes McDonald’s, he’s a big boy lol.
I’m careful to criticize people based on a heavier build. I run 4 times a week, and I have a heavier looking friend who runs me into the ground. I’m sure they have yearly physical fitness tests. They travel a lot and probably do not eat as well as they should given the schedule. They’re understaffed and overworked. Go apply for a job there if you think you can do better.
Quite a whipsaw from calling a brave, slain firefighter a cultist, to defending a fat and unprepared female who shouldn't have ever been put in her job. You're on a woke roll! Go Bernie! It's your best you!
Sorry Bernie, this old lady does not completely agree. If that were my husband as president or if I were the intended target, I sure would have wanted some bigger, taller men escorting/carrying me out. I saw a woman who demonstrated lack of "bulk" and lack of training and "muscle memory" in handling of the gun. I blame DEI for putting her where she was not ready or physically able to do the job. I recognize the need to address inequalities with respect to different groups in our society. However, like many of our endeavors this has gotten out of hand for some very critical positions. I am also interested in learning the different layers of support in the perimeter of this event. How overstretched were the teams? Did they have the training needed to interact with each other? In critical emergency situations teams develop short phases that clearly delineate that everyone is on the same page and ready for the next step. You can also find this in emergency situations in hospital teams responding to a code. I am uncertain if I heard/saw that in this incident.
Vance - another excellent reason not to vote for trump
haters got to hate
I think they were attacked, as fat guys would have been, because of their pathetic performance for all to see. Their sex has nothing to do with their apparent unpreparedness. We all saw what we saw. Don't gaslight us.
Sorry Bernie. Most of those females did not belong.
We don't know what the officer was doing when the shooter pointed his rifle at him. Was he using two hands to climb a ladder and as he reached the top had to duck down? Or should he have stayed there holding on, head up, for 4 or 5 seconds to get shot? I'm curious what happened but will wait for further info. The female members are on video, plain to see.
And most officers aren't running 100 yards for anything. I wish all officers were in better shape but on a site like a Trump rally, everyone has their place. Trump was up and about, on the stage after the shooting, an easy target for a second shooter. With a female agent ducking down under his armpit. Really?
And you just keep on with your bullshit rhetoric, unable to learn from your mistakes.
I bet these are the same window lickers that vote for Trump and Vance. The ones who think women belong in the kitchen. The ones who think women should have to stay in marriages with abuse. The ones who support pro-life in all situations including rape, ectopic pregnancies, incest, and if the mother is in danger of her own life. That's what Project 2025, Trump and Vance are ALL about.
Keep disparaging women, because we all know who you are and we are going to be the ones who save democracy from people like you.
These are the same people who blame diversity for the Baltimore bridge crash.
Racism in thin disguise.
Like it or not, this country has people of all races.
That’s not going to change.
The video doesn't lie...they were both bewildered...I have an idea, how about having ONE set of standards instead of one for males, then a modified one for females. You would have more QUALIFIED and better female agents/cops. Also, look on social media at every celebrity who has a security detail. EVERY SINGLE ONE has large MALES. Even Oprah has males.
Wake up Bernie, DEI is in every fedral agency and that's why their crap now
I'm blown away that your readers would submit comments like that. I'm in a traditionally male dominated field with more and more women entering and instead of feeling threatened, I welcome it. It's the way of the world and those of us with daughters should be glad.
1. Unless you have been in the line of fire shut your mouth.
2. I served with many women I would take by my side over a internet big mouth or Monday morning Quarterback any damn day.
3. At most I saw people under stress and under trained. You can teach a damn chimp how to hoister a weapon. But it takes guts to stand between a target and a shooter.
4. The people I have seen that have been there and had the training feel this was a leadership, planning and training failure.
5. And as for the weight issue your right, they and alot of officers are over weight and unfit and should be removed or flagged until they get it under control. But before you ask for that maybe look in the mirror.
6. Lastly if someone tries to kill another person and kills and wounds others and all you can do is point a finger then maybe just maybe the problem is you and those like you....
We are all Americans and if you don't agree maybe your the one who should love it or leave it no matter what side you claim.
There is enough blame to go around, but I believe the officer who confronted the shooter was hanging on the side of the building, so unable to grab his gun. A couple of points: Trump is over six feet and a hefty man. I’m not being sexist when I say having a 5’5 female on his detail may not be the best idea. While Trump initially got to the ground, he actually fought Secret Service trying to rush him off the stage because he has to get his fist pump in before he went anywhere. I was hoping this event would humble him, but seeing him looking like Van Gogh and acting like Lazarus shows he is the same egomaniacal Trump. I feel nothing but sympathy for his security detail.
Everyone will have their opinions from afar to second guess the agents, but under NO circumstances should someone "fire their gun into the ground" to get someone's attention. You are accountable for EVERY round, day 1 lesson in police work. The warning shots, the ricochets, and magic bullets are movie stuff. Same people who argue that police should shoot someone in the leg to stop them. If you really don't have time to yell or use your radio / cell phone, maybe a flashlight toward the sniper team but NEVER fire your gun into the ground to alert someone........
Kamala Harris grew up upper middle class, albeit by a single mom. She traveled the world as a child. Vance grew up dirt poor. His mom was an abusive alcoholic and drug addict. Vance enlisted in the marines after 9/11. Finished undergrad in 2 years and then graduated from Yale law school. He met his Indian/Hindu wife there.
Harris had to take the California bar exam twice to pass. That tells me she’s lazy. Harris uses her skin color to play the victim, but has no clue how anyone lives in a lower income neighborhood. Her parents were activist academic types. Politics aside, this guy has character. He’s not afraid to listen as he has been working with Elizabeth Warren on breaking up the big social media companies. I don’t agree on all his positions, but he has listened and changed his position on issues. I would take him over her any day of the week just based on character alone.
Hogwash. Let’s talk about the MALE police officer that confronted the shooter and immediately retreated and didn’t communicate to anyone that there was an UNKNOWN shooter on a roof. Let’s talk about the MALE counter-snipers that didn’t even notice an individual on a white roof with a rifle until AFTER he shot at Trump. You guys are so quick to eat your own it’s astounding. But let’s talk about only the female Secret Service agents that more than qualified to do the job. Hypocrites.
The agents' torsos are covered in body armor and weaponry, thus to attempt to comment on their physical appearance is plain dumb. The one female agent has led Trump's details for a significant period of time and if she was not up to the job, Trump would have likely complained.
With that being said, having physical guards who are dwarfed by Trump's height, is likely a planning error. These agents, men and women, were prepared and did throw their body on him to protect him. They were willing to take a bullet as is their duty. However, poor planning left some obvious open "room" when the top of some agents' head is less than shoulder height of their protected asset.
Why don’t we compromise on this?
Going forward, Trump, Vance and their families get agents who are tall, fit and have been promoted on merit, whether they’re men or women agents.
Biden, Harris and their families can be protected by agents who meet the diversity standards they want and look like they’re extra Oompa-Loompas from the latest Willie Wonka movie.
Everyone gets what they want, and the problem is solved.
Signed,
King Solomon
The woman who protected Trump's chest hugged on tight and was willing to die to protect him. Simply that is what mattered and she did her job admirably. Amazing how many people on this blog are perfect and know everything. Sad how many are unaffected by what happened some people will never change. Mistakes are learned from. It's so incredibly sad a father and husband died and two others were critically wounded. Let us not forget this could have been anybody. Including us. Bless those who protect us. They're human too
“Lastly if someone tries to kill another person and kills and wounds others and all you can do is point a finger then maybe just maybe the problem is you and those like you....”
I disagree. We just had a former president and major political candidate come within an inch (no exaggeration) of losing his life to an inexperienced 20-year-old shooter who somehow managed to defeat Secret Service protection and fire multiple rounds at his target, killing a bystander. I also don’t think it’s an exaggeration to believe that a more skilled assassin, or team of assassins, wouldn’t have missed their primary target.
If you don’t think that deserves the highest level of scrutiny or “finger-pointing”, you’re crazy. Obviously there was a breakdown in planning, coverage and communication. Beyond that, while I commend the agents who dove on President Trump and might have taken a bullet for him, they also left him up there for far too long and he was far too exposed.
If they had done their jobs correctly, you wouldn’t have heard some saying “what are we doing?”. They would have grabbed the former president and CARRIED him quickly to the armored vehicle to get him out of the area.
Every action by every agent should be scrutinized to the highest degree, including the decisions on who was assigned to be closest to Trump and if they were physically able to do the job. NOTHING should be off limits.
I say that not to get any retribution on those who failed Trump, but to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again. Next time it might not be Trump, and could be Biden or Harris or (finally) RFK Jr. They all deserve the best protection by the best agents who have learned from this colossal security failure.
And maybe that also prevents other innocent bystanders from being killed or wounded in the future as well.
Let talk about the response to Uvalde and Parkland. Sadly, several of the comment I have read were from former or second career law enforcement. Some of these comments even suggested DEI was the reason.
Exactly.
First off, it appears the officer was using both hands to pull himself up on the roof. His weapon was holstered. The dude turned around at that point so he let go. The real question is why the SS. sniper took so long to drop him. A communication delay because not everyone on the same frequency? Didn’t we learn this after 09/11 that communication is a problem. Or was the sniper waiting for the green light? If that’s the case, that’s a problem. Let the investigation play out. Regardless, there were a lot of security breakdowns here. They need to be fixed.
Anonymous 10:01 -
A video clip I saw, the sniper who took out the gunman was clearly watching him. The person who took the video even said she starting recording the USSS sniper because he started acting differently; something got his attention or some information came over his radio. But, yes, the officer who confronted the gunman has some questions to answer.
I'm no Trumper, but...
"I was hoping this event would humble him, but seeing him looking like Van Gogh and acting like Lazarus shows he is the same egomaniacal Trump."
Dude just got shot in the HEAD, and walked away.
Let him have his moment
@11:36
There's ALWAYS a Command Post(CP) at events like these with a liaison officer from each department so different agencies with different radio's can quickly and easily relay communication, so that should have been no issue. And the counter snipers do not need a "green light" if they see a threat that requires deadly force...and a dude climbing a roof with a scoped long gun is an obvious threat that requires deadly force
I think the SS has more questions to answer regarding this situation thaN you can imagine. Yes, the new Biden appointed director (female) wanted 30% women agents. I actually commented about how many women SS agents were there before knowing this fact. The percentage is irrelevant to me, but I agree that the actions didn't seem as professional as they could have been. Yes, the "shooter" was down, but how did anyone know if he was the only one? After all, they didn't even see him until it was too late. Trump was left exposed for way too long. It was ghastly. GET HIM OFF THE STAGE!!!
As for the shooting itself, I was horrified. Horrified. The idea that he (or anyone) was within an inch of being assassinated left me sick. I don't care what political party is up there. The thought of a Bud Dwyer type incident (even though self inflicted) is just awful.
But, beware. As much as everyone says Trump is a shoe in, remember Hillary was a shoe in also. If he stays humble, his will win. He has a good VP choice, although Nikki Haley was my option. Biden and Harris are just taking up space. Both are terrible.
#TRUMP2024
12:30 pm: Sympathy to the dead and truly wounded, but Trump got his ear pierced. He’ll milk this to death, but facts are facts. I have no sympathy for a man who demeans Gold Star families, POWs, and scores of others. He was a disgrace before 6:12 pm on July 13th and he is a disgrace now. I am so very disappointed that so many have been hoodwinked by this man.
Outstanding! Stupid people and read, and type. Bravo you internet warrior geniuses. Now get back to being mediocre at your day job.
They just said that Trumps detail was actually increased because of Iranian assassination plot. Good grief if that’s what an enhanced protection detail looks like we’re in trouble.
Trump did not want to leave the stage … he never does .. and resisted being taken away.
Trump got the exact Secret Service security detail that Biden's administration wanted him to have.
That’s the point you imbecile! In that situation, the protectee is no longer in charge. The agents should have moved him directly to the armored vehicle, and carried him if need be.
As heroic as the agents were for diving to protect Trump, they were deficient in getting him out of the kill zone.
That can’t happen again, no matter who they are protecting.
Violence should always be condemned , and a botched assassination attempt is no place to demonstrate a wrestle mania IQ reaction to a near death experience, but he’s trump…so worrying about his shoes, his iconic photos being taken while yelling fight and popping his head above his protectors arms , on stage, is the new norm,
according to his mentor Vince McMann .
Since we’re on the topic of deconstructing misogyny and this toxic patriarchal society, did anyone notice that that both Trumps and JD Lances wives weren’t present? Yeah that should tell you all you need to know about how the RNC feels about the role of the first and Second Ladies.
This election isn’t about President Biden or Democrats or Republicans it’s about one demagogue who has aroused all the hatred to divide this country and destroy our democracy and our country and enhance his wealth.
5:36 -
People often do or say odd things immediately after a traumatic event. The scope of the level of danger or threat is often not realized as it's happening. Besides, one clip I saw where the news "close-captioned" what the agents where saying was as Trump was beginning to get up was "shooter down." Personally, I think they should have tried harder to keep him down because you cannot assume that if you took out a shooter that there isn't another. I don't think they expected Trump to fight being held down.
7:25 -
Dude, her husband just got shot. She's probably rattled and maybe keeping low.
I saw a photograph taken at the event of Vance with his wife. He's wearing a suit with a powder blue tie and she's wearing an olive green sleeveless dress. (AP Photo by Carolyn Kaster).
Troll.
You’re a bigot
This philosophy by democrats of many sure everybody is represented sucks. You must put the best people into positions based on skill and brains not color, sex or religion. The Marines got it right when they would not give to women training with the men in basic training.
The more that comes out about this incident the more questions there are. The story keeps changing. The kid must be the only 20 year old on the planet that has no social media presence. Gross incompetence at the very least. SS director should resign! Sloped roof, give me a break. The whole thing stinks.
Vance’s wife was there. She’s beautiful. Stop with the trolling. It must be so hard going through life permanently aggrieved. Smile it will be ok.
Not only that, it gets worse. Once secured in the vehicle, “the spare”. There was a long delay getting him out of there because the motorcade wasn’t ready. Imagine if this was a team of Iranian assassins and not some kid.
Hey lady! Misogynistic men don’t marry brilliant lawyers. Not only that’s, she has a PHD in philosophy on top of her Yale law degree. Give it a rest!
Don't doubt that Vance has been groomed for this position.
🤡
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