Trump assassination attempt: do former presidents need more protection?

Secret Service director says 'paradigm shift' needed after second Trump attack sparks calls for more resources

Donald Trump is injured at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on 13 July 2024
Donald Trump was shot and injured at a rally in Pennsylvania in July
(Image credit: Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)

The head of the US Secret Service has admitted that a "paradigm shift" is needed in the agency's approach to protecting current and former presidents, following a second assassination attempt on Donald Trump in as many months.

Acting director Ronald Rowe said the agency needed to "get out of a reactive model and get to a readiness model". He acknowledged that resources had been stretched thin during a particularly divisive presidential campaign season.

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