Trump is praising the Secret Service even though many say it failed badly to protect him
Evan Vucci via AP
- Donald Trump praised the Secret Service after he was shot at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
- However, critics have questioned why the Secret Service failed to prevent the shooting.
- Congress has launched an investigation into what it says were "inexcusable security breaches."
Donald Trump praised the Secret Service for its response to his shooting on Saturday, saying the agency rushed in like "linebackers" to whisk him to safety.
His comments were made in an interview with the New York Post, in which he recounted the moment he was shot as "very surreal".
'"They took him out with one shot right between the eyes," he said. "They did a fantastic job. It's surreal for all of us."
Trump's praise stands out among a sea of criticism against the agency following the incident.
Kenneth Gray, a retired FBI special agent and now a professor at the University of New Haven, told the Financial Times that the incident showed a breakdown in the security plan for the rally.
"The fact that this shooter was able to get off an attack like this here looks like they needed additional resources," he said.
Pressure is now mounting on the Secret Service, from both Republicans and Democrats, to explain why it allowed a shooter to come so close to Trump at a pre-planned event.
The shooter crawled onto an open rooftop at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania about 150 meters away from the former president and fired off multiple rounds.
He killed one rally-goer and critically injured two others before being shot dead by a Secret Service counter-sniper, who was on another rooftop.
One bullet hit Trump's right ear, leaving blood streaming down his face.
"This counter-sniper made an amazingly quick decision and clearly saved Trump's life," Bill Pickle, the former special agent in charge of Al Gore's vice-presidential Secret Service detail, told Business Insider.
However, he may have also lost crucial seconds in preventing the incident from happening in the first place.
Pickle said the extreme heat, a lack of anti-sniper backup, and a likely focus on a nearby treeline may have delayed the counter-sniper's reaction.
"Someone made a decision that that number of counter-snipers was sufficient," Pickle said.
"And obviously, in hindsight, they were wrong because there was a kid who was able to get up there on that rooftop and pull the trigger three times at least."
On Sunday, Congress said it would launch an investigation into what it described as "inexcusable security breaches" by the agency.
Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Pittsburgh Field Office, echoed the statements in a news conference on Sunday, saying: "There is going to be a long investigation into what took place."
Representatives for the Secret Service did not immediately reply to a request from Business Insider to comment.
The Secret Service's protection covers former presidents and vice-presidents, and their children under 16.
It also extends to major presidential and vice-presidential candidates within four months of presidential elections, both of which apply to Donald Trump.
The Secret Service's director, Kimberly Cheatle, is set to testify about the shooting at a hearing on Monday, July 22.