Public trust in the US Secret Service has significantly declined following a failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, according to a recent Gallup poll. The poll reveals a 23-point drop in satisfaction with the agency’s performance, a result of the July attack on Trump during a campaign rally.
The Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting top political figures and investigating financial crimes, has come under heavy criticism for security lapses leading to the incident. During the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a gunman fired shots at Trump, grazing his ear, injuring two others, and killing a rallygoer.
Following the attack, both Republican and Democratic voters have expressed growing dissatisfaction with the agency. Republican trust dropped by 20 points, while Democrats’ trust declined by 18 points, as reported by the Washington Post.
The survey, conducted from September 3 to 15, preceded a second assassination attempt on September 15. In that incident, Secret Service agents successfully thwarted the plan at Trump’s Florida golf club, where an armed man, Ryan Wesley Routh, was discovered hiding in the bushes for nearly 12 hours before being apprehended.
Internal reviews of the July shooting highlighted several security oversights, including failure to properly cover rooftops and detect the gunman’s drone. Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, is collaborating with Congress to increase the agency’s budget and improve its resources to handle escalating threats.
Democratic Colorado Representative Jason Crow, a member of the bipartisan House task force investigating the incident, stressed the agency’s stretched capacity on ABC’s “This Week.” He added that threats are now “three to four times higher” than in the past, as cited by the Washington Post.
