Two years ago, America came within a fraction of an inch of watching Donald Trump assassinated on live television.
A rifle round struck his ear. He dropped behind the podium. Secret Service agents surrounded him. And then Trump stood back up, blood on his face, raised his fist and shouted:
“Fight! Fight! Fight!”
That moment became a symbol of courage and defiance. But today’s observation is this:
Donald Trump did not survive because the security system worked. He survived despite a security system that failed at nearly every level.
The gunman had been spotted acting suspiciously. His photograph had been circulated. He carried a rangefinder. He climbed onto a roof with a direct line of sight to the stage. Local officers were searching for him, but critical information never reached the people protecting Trump.
The government’s own investigations concluded that the attack was preventable. Radio systems were not properly connected. The roof was not secured. The counter-drone system was not functioning. Secret Service personnel missed more than 100 local police transmissions concerning the search for the gunman.
That is not one mistake.
That is a catastrophic chain of failure.
And while we thank God President Trump survived, we must never allow Corey Comperatore to become a footnote in this story.
Corey was a firefighter, an Army veteran, a husband and a father. When the bullets began flying, he did what protectors do. He threw himself over his wife and daughters—and gave his life shielding them.
Trump responded to the attack by standing and telling America to fight.
Corey responded by covering his family with his own body.
Two years later, six Secret Service employees receiving temporary suspensions does not feel like accountability for a failure that killed one American, seriously wounded two others and nearly changed the course of history.
We may never fully understand the gunman’s motive. But we already know enough about the security failures.
The question is no longer whether Butler could have been prevented.
The official investigations say it could have been.
The question is whether anyone in Washington will ever be held truly accountable.
That is Today’s Observation For You.