In the days ahead of the anniversary of the first assassination attempt against Donald Trump on 13 July 2024, his most loyal basecamp constituents expressed great discontent with the lack of Department of Justice action on both the Epstein files and Russian collusion conspiracy. Now, there is additional discontent about what we don’t know about the cascading failures of the inept security detail that Joe Biden’s administration assigned to protect Trump, as well as what we don’t know about the radicalization of his would-be assassin, Matthew Crooks, and the causation connection with the hateful rhetoric spewed by Biden and his leftist Demo cadres.
In fact, we know not much more than what I originally covered in detail in “Trump, the Assassin, the Secret Service, and Biden’s Response” just after the attack.
To date, the only consequence of the most significant Secret Service security failure since the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981 is that last week, six Secret Service supervisors and line-level agents received short-term suspensions without pay.
Of course, 10 days after the 13 July attempt, Biden’s Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle resigned. In her comments about the incident, she displayed her complete ineptitude. Days after the incident, Cheatle, who got her job with the help of Jill Biden after having been on her security detail, made this claim regarding the lack of Secret Service counter-sniper overwatch on the rooftop where the assassin perched: “That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof. So, you know, the decision was made to secure the building from inside.”
Seriously, that was her assessment. Fact is, the very shallow pitch of the rooftops that the two counter-sniper overwatch teams were on was the same as the roof pitch where the assailant was located, and clearly there was no danger posed by any of the roof-pitch angles.
For his part, speaking to his daughter-in-law, Laura Trump, about that day, President Trump recalled: “I didn’t know exactly what was going on. I got whacked. There’s no question about that. And fortunately, I got down quickly. People were screaming, and I got down quickly, fortunately… One got me, and … one killed Corey, the firefighter. Great guy.”
Of the Senate’s report and the Secret Service corrective actions, Trump concluded: “They briefed me, and I’m satisfied with it. … So there were mistakes made, and that shouldn’t have happened. I was satisfied in terms of the bigger plot, the larger plot, I was satisfied. … I have great confidence in these people. I know the people. And they’re very talented, very capable. But they had a bad day.”
He praised the Secret Service agent who dispatched the assailant: “Our sniper, within less than five seconds, was able to get him from a long distance with one shot. He just, he went about his business. He got him perfectly from a very long distance. So, we got a little bit lucky in that regard.” Typical of Trump, he also praised the Secret Service in general: “I have great confidence in these people. I know the people, and they’re very talented, very capable. They had a bad day.”
Speaking to the press pool later in the day, when asked what he thinks about that day, he replied: “I don’t like to think about it much. I have a job to do, so I don’t like to think about it much. It’s a little bit of a dangerous profession being president, but I really don’t like to think about it. Better off not thinking about it.”
As for his survival, veteran journalist Salena Zito says when preparing her book on the attack, Butler: The Untold Story: “He [Trump] comes to the conclusion, several times, that it was the hand of God. He was spared because he has been given a higher purpose than to just be a candidate for president, to be the best thing that he could possibly be for the country.”
Indeed, Trump was just millimeters from death. As I wrote at the time, one of those bullets slightly wounded Trump, but the trajectory was just a few millimeters from being a fatal shot. In fact, as the assassin was firing his shot, Trump was turning toward a panel showing the massive illegal immigration numbers under Biden. Had he not turned toward that graphic, he would have most assuredly suffered a fatal wound.
The most consequential voice of discontent with the Secret Service is, understandably, that of the widow of the one person killed that day, Corey Comperatore (for whose family Trump set up a fund providing millions of dollars of support). Helen Comperatore is demanding answers: “We were all sitting ducks that day. Our blood is all over their hands. I am angry. I lost the love of my life… Why weren’t [the president’s security team personnel] paying attention? Why did they think the roof didn’t need covered? … Why was that such a failure? I want to sit down and talk to them. … They need to listen to me.”
She noted that President Trump sent her a letter last month, “just checking in,” which she characterized as “a beautiful letter saying our families will always be connected and that if I ever need anything to please reach out.”
The White House had a special ceremony to honor Mr. Comperatore on Sunday, and Trump said: “The world will never forget the tragic loss of Corey Comperatore, a firefighter, veteran, and devoted husband and father, When gunfire erupted, Corey did not hesitate to protect his wife and two daughters. He died a hero, and we are eternally grateful for his inspiring love, valor, and faithfulness.”
Others shared the public discontent with the investigation outcome, including Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He said: “It’s a year now, and the American people don’t have answers. Who is this Crooks guy? … There’s still many unanswered questions here.”
Senate Homeland Security Chairman Rand Paul (R-KY) said of Crooks’s motive, “The FBI has told us they’ve never found anything about it,” adding the investigation “has gone on too long.”
Fact is, there may not be much more to know about a sociopathic loner who had few friends and not much of a digital footprint.
As I noted at the time, Crooks lived with his parents, who are both licensed social workers — his father a registered Libertarian, and his mother a registered Democrat. He was immersed in violent media and gaming, as is the case with many high-profile assailants. Ahead of the attack, Crooks posted a message on an online gaming website that teased his attack: “July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds.”
A fellow student and friend of Crooks said, “This was, like, a really, really smart kid, like he excelled, and nothing crazy ever came up in any conversation.” Another student said, “He was just an outcast.” It is known that Crooks mocked classmates for supporting Trump.
He had no police record, and we do not know if he was being treated for mental health issues or exhibited the gender disorientation pathology associated with an increasing number of high-profile assailants. However, it was clear that he was not going to survive this attack, thus classifying it as “suicide by cop.”
There may never be more to know.
Fortunately, two months after the Butler attack, the Secret Service thwarted another assassination attempt by a deranged leftist who was clearly triggered by hateful political rhetoric before he could take a shot.
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776
