Eric Trump praises Secret Service as Republicans target director

Eric Trump, the son of former President Donald Trump, praised the U.S. Secret Service this week after some Republicans targeted Director Kimberly Cheatle.

On Tuesday, Eric Trump appeared on MSNBC‘s Katy Tur Reports and was asked about the assassination attempt against his father over the weekend at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

When asked about his views on the Secret Service he said, “I know all of those agents on stage and they’re the greatest people ever.”

“They’re the greatest people ever and every single one of those people would have taken a bullet for him that day and they did, they jumped in,” Eric Trump said. “I don’t put any of this on them. In fact, I laud them for their courageousness and being heroes that day because they could have gotten killed as well.”

Eric Trump went on to discuss the setup of the rally saying “whoever allowed a rooftop that large to be unsecured at 130 yards, whoever allowed a madman to crawl up on that rooftop with a rifle” are the “real questions to be answered.”

The comments by Eric Trump come just a few days after an individual, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at the former president while he was on stage, injuring his ear in an assassination attempt. Crooks was later killed by the Secret Service while one rally attendee also died and two others were in critical condition.

Following the assassination attempt, many Republicans have voiced criticism of the Secret Service, with many taking aim at Director Cheatle. Newsweek reached out to the Secret Service via email for comment.

“The head of the Secret Service and the leader of this security detail should resign,” Elon Musk wrote in a post to X, formerly Twitter.

Similarly, X user Libs of TikTok said, “This is Kimberly Cheatle, the Director of Secret Service. She needs to resign immediately and be investigated. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson said, “THE HOUSE WILL CONDUCT A FULL INVESTIGATION OF THE TRAGIC EVENTS TODAY. The American people deserve to know the truth. We will have Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and other appropriate officials from DHS and the FBI appear for a hearing before our committees ASAP.”

Republican Representative Lauren Boebert announced this week that she was introducing legislation “to hold Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle accountable for the agency’s incompetence and failure to protect President Trump during the Butler, Pennsylvania campaign rally.”

In a statement on Monday, Cheatle said, “The Secret Service is working with all involved Federal, state and local agencies to understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again. We understand the importance of the independent review announced by President Biden yesterday and will participate fully. We will also work with the appropriate Congressional committees on any oversight action.

“The Secret Service is tasked with the tremendous responsibility of protecting the current and former leaders of our democracy. It is a responsibility that I take incredibly seriously, and I am committed to fulfilling that mission.”