New book details security lapses ahead of Trump assassination attempt: 'Clear there was a problem'

An upcoming book sheds further light on security lapses long before the first assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.

On Thursday, Vanity Fair released an excerpt of Axios Senior Political Reporter Alex Isenstadt’s new book "Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power." The excerpt largely focused on the circumstances surrounding the assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally in July.

The shooting in Butler and subsequent attempt at a Florida golf course were major security failures that put a spotlight on the U.S. Secret Service, especially.

But prior to the attempt, Isenstadt reported that members of Trump’s team were concerned about his safety, particularly when he began campaigning.

One example included when Trump appeared at a Washington courthouse for an arraignment in August 2023. The Secret Service and the U.S. Marshals reportedly had "neglected to shut off the public’s access to the elevator Trump was using, leaving him exposed to whoever was in the building." 

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"Trump’s elevator stopped at each floor, and after the door opened onlookers gawked…Total freakshow, an aide with Trump in the elevator thought," the excerpt read.

It continued, "Things weren’t better on the four-mile ride back to Reagan National Airport, when police didn’t clear the roads for Trump’s motorcade. As the black SUVs barreled out of the city and onto the George Washington Memorial Parkway, it was clear there was a problem. Rush-hour drivers had clogged the rain-soaked roads and were weaving in and out of the same lanes as Trump’s vehicle. At one point, an accident was averted when a car cut in front of a van transporting the press pool, causing the van’s driver to slam the brakes. Trump could get rammed, thought one member of Trump’s entourage."

In response to this excerpt, Secret Service spokeswoman Melissa McKenzie told Fox News Digital, "On Aug. 3, 2023, agents protecting then-former President Donald Trump followed appropriate protection protocols during his arraignment at a federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. There was never any threat to the President during his movements within the motorcade or courthouse. Everyone entering the courthouse was screened for weapons, per courthouse security policies."

Trump’s team also "found his security apparatus lacking" at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. 

"The club was like a fishbowl, crawling with all kinds of visitors from God knows where," the excerpt read. "People who went to [Mar-a-Lago] to meet with Trump got wanded [sic] by the Secret Service. But others often got in unchecked. And given that Trump many times spent the dinner hour at his open-air patio, someone could simply walk up to him with a gun. After Ye and Nicholas Fuentes were able to make it through the gates, the looseness of the club’s security protocols burst into public view."

McKenzie referred Fox News Digital to the Mar-a-Lago facility managers about who may have been allowed in as it is a private club. "To maintain the operational integrity of our work, we are unable to discuss the means or methods used to conduct our protective operations," she added.

Isenstadt wrote that tensions "began to bubble" between Trump’s Secret Service detail, at the time led by Sean Curran, and Secret Service leadership as the campaign went on. Curran was named director of the Secret Service in January.

"The Trump campaign and Curran wanted more assets; the threat level surrounding Trump, they believed, was increasing," Isenstadt wrote. "But the agency, which had been struggling with staffing shortages, denied some of the requests. As the Republican convention neared, the Trumpians were asking for the perimeter around the site to be expanded, so protesters couldn’t get so close to attendees. Secret Service leadership in Washington insisted the plan they already had was fine."

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A 20-year-old gunman opened fire on Trump's July 13 rally from a rooftop just outside the event's security perimeter, killing one rally attendee and injuring two others. Trump was shot in the ear and hastily evacuated by Secret Service agents.

Next, Trump was golfing at his course at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15 when Secret Service agents spotted and began shooting at another would-be assassin – Ryan Wesley Routh – who allegedly had an AK-47 pointed at the former president on the green. 

The attempts spurred several probes, including multiple congressional investigations, into security failures. Kimberly Cheatle, who was the director of the Secret Service at the time of the Butler rally, resigned from her post shortly after, amid mounting pressure from congressional lawmakers on both sides of the aisle after the massive security failure. 

"Following the events of July 13, the U.S. Secret Service elevated the protective posture for our protectees and bolstered our protective details as appropriate in order to ensure the highest levels of safety and security for those we protect. The U.S. Secret Service continues to evaluate and adjust our specific protective measures and methodology based on the current threat environment," McKenzie told Fox News Digital.

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Fox News Digital also reached out to the White House and U.S. Marshals for comment.