Being ahead in the polls can come with a price: For Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ben Carson, it means there's enough of a threat to their safety that they've been approved to get Secret Service details "within days," The Washington Post reports. The decision was authorized by Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson.
Since the assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968, nominated presidential candidates have been able to receive Secret Service protection while campaigning; during Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, when he was a senator, a new process was arranged for party frontrunners and those facing specific threats to be appointed extra protection (Obama got his in September 2007, over a year before election day).
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I don't feel the need for it, quite frankly. But the Secret Service thinks that I need it," Carson told reporters back when he applied in October. Trump, however, didn't drag his feet on the decision.
"I want to put them on notice because they should have a liability. Personally, I think if Obama were doing as well as me he would've had Secret Service [earlier]. I have by far the biggest crowds," Trump told The Hill at the time.
-
Political cartoons for December 11Cartoons Thursday's political cartoons include sinking approval ratings, a nativity scene, and Mike Johnson's Christmas cards
-
It Was Just an Accident: a ‘striking’ attack on the Iranian regimeThe Week Recommends Jafar Panahi’s furious Palme d’Or-winning revenge thriller was made in secret
-
Singin’ in the Rain: fun Christmas show is ‘pure bottled sunshine’The Week Recommends Raz Shaw’s take on the classic musical is ‘gloriously cheering’
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
-
Ex-FBI agents sue Patel over protest firingspeed read The former FBI agents were fired for kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest for ‘apolitical tactical reasons’
-
Trump unveils $12B bailout for tariff-hit farmersSpeed Read The president continues to insist that his tariff policy is working
-
Trump’s Comey case dealt new setbackspeed read A federal judge ruled that key evidence could not be used in an effort to reindict former FBI Director James Comey
-
Moscow cheers Trump’s new ‘America First’ strategyspeed read The president’s national security strategy seeks ‘strategic stability’ with Russia
-
Trump tightens restrictions for work visasSpeed Read The length of work permits for asylum seekers and refugees has been shortened from five years to 18 months
-
Supreme Court revives Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read Texas Republicans can use the congressional map they approved in August at President Donald Trump’s behest
