Intelligence under pressure as Biden says he ‘needs more help’

Following the suspected second assassination attempt on the former president within two months, pressure is growing to increase Secret Service protection for Donald Trump.

“The service needs more help,” President Joe Biden said on Monday. “Congress should respond to its needs if it actually needs more soldiers.”

Ryan Routh was charged with a federal weapons offense at a hearing in Florida over the incident Sunday at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

Investigators say Routh carried an SKS scoped rifle, waited near the race track for 12 hours and was about 300 to 500 feet away from Trump, but never made “visual contact.”

Routh was arrested on a highway about 45 minutes after a Secret Service agent saw the barrel of a rifle sticking out of a bush.

Investigators say he was lurking in bushes on the “public side of the fence” around the sixth hole of the course.

Authorities have charged Routh with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He will appear in court again next week to determine whether he should remain in custody.

Trump told supporters he was fine and safe and thanked the Secret Service – the government agency responsible for protecting the president and key U.S. officials – and other law enforcement agencies for their “incredible job.”

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said Trump does not enjoy the same protections as a sitting president.

“If he were, we would have surrounded the entire golf course,” he said.

On Monday, Secret Service Deputy Director Ronald Rowe said Trump's golf outing was not planned in advance and that agents were given only short notice.

Trump “actually wasn't supposed to go there, it wasn't on his official schedule,” Rowe noted.

“We put together a security plan, and that security plan worked,” he said.

He added that Mr Biden had approved “increased resources” for presidential candidates following the assassination attempt on Trump in July. The resources available to Trump on Sunday included snipers, counter-assault teams and drones.

Mr Rowe said the “footprint” of Trump’s security team was larger today compared to when he was president.

Several members of Congress from both major parties have said presidential candidates should enjoy the same protections as the incumbent president.

Senator Tom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, said he would introduce a bill to accomplish this.

Republican Representative Claudia Tenney of New York posted on Twitter/X that it was “inexplicable” that Trump could be on the verge of a second assassination attempt.

In addition, several Democrats called for a review of security procedures.

“Two assassination attempts within 60 days against a former President and the Republican nominee are unacceptable,” tweeted Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California.

The bipartisan congressional task force investigating the first assassination attempt against Trump had requested additional information from the Secret Service following Sunday's incident.

Former agents of the service have suggested to the BBC that Trump needs more protection than other former presidents given his candidacy for the White House.

“We have to reevaluate that now,” said former agent Barry Donadio. “Should all of these candidates receive the same presidential protection package? I think that's probably going to have to be the answer.”

The assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July led to the resignation of Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle, who admitted that the agency had experienced the “most serious operational failure” in decades.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump blamed President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the attack.

“He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris and acted on it,” Trump told Fox News, without providing any evidence.

“Their rhetoric is putting me in the crossfire,” he said. “I am the one who is going to save the country and they are the ones who are destroying the country – both from within and from without.”

Biden said he was “relieved” that Trump was unharmed, adding: “I have directed my team to continue to ensure that the Secret Service has all the necessary resources, capabilities and protections to ensure the continued safety of the former President.”

Ms Harris said she was “deeply disturbed” by the assassination attempt and she was “grateful that former President Trump is safe”.

“We all have to do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to further violence,” she said.