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Louise Thomas
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Secret Service officials have urged Donald Trump’s campaign to stop scheduling large outdoor rallies outdoors, after the attempted assassination of the former president.
Following the shocking incident in Butler, Pennsylvania, the agency has communicated its concerns with Trump officials about holding such events with big crowds, sources familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.
Less than two weeks after the shooting, it is understood the Trump campaign is now scouting indoor venues for upcoming events, including sports arenas and other large spaces. No outdoor events are currently scheduled, a source told the newspaper.
It comes after Kimberly Cheatle, director of the Secret Service, resigned on Tuesday in the aftermath of the incident, admitting that it had been “the most significant operational failure” at the agency in “decades.”
“I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she said in an email to staff obtained by The Associated Press. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”
Trump has held hundreds of outdoor rallies since launching his first presidential bid, which have been known to attract tens of thousands of zealous supporters. Some events even feature tailgate-style parties, complete with merchandise sellers.
Rallies have been held at airports, fairgrounds, football stadiums and other large outdoor venues. Sarah Matthews, a former Trump spokeswoman turned critic, said that crowd size had always been important to the former president.
Trump would often get upset if people were not moved past the magnetometers quickly enough and the outdoor venues were not filling up quickly enough.
“It gives him a lot of joy and energy being with large crowds. He feeds off their energy. It’s almost like a source of comfort for him,” Matthews, who served as a deputy press secretary in the Trump White House, told The Washington Post.
Indoor rallies are more expensive, campaign advisers told the outlet, though inherently safer, due to it being easier to control who comes through a finite number of doors. There are also fewer line-of-sight issues.
“Obviously with an indoor venue, you have a capacity,” Matthews said. “It doesn’t pack the same punch. There’s something about being at one of those outdoor rallies.”
Trump is the first modern ex-president to seek another term, and because of his high visibility, his protective detail has always been larger than some others. That protective bubble became tighter in recent months as he drew closer to the nomination.
All major party nominees are granted enhanced details with counterassault and countersniper teams similar to that of the president.
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