How the Assassin Approached Trump... Florida Governor Announces "Internal Investigation"

Secret Service Faces 'Security Failure Theory' Again

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced on the 15th (local time) that he will launch an independent investigation into the second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, Governor DeSantis posted on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), "Florida will conduct its own investigation into the assassination attempt that occurred at Trump International Golf Club."

He stated, "The public has the right to know the truth about the assassin," and "They also have the right to know how someone was able to get within 500 yards of a former president and current Republican presidential candidate."

According to the U.S. Secret Service (SS) on the day, the assassination attempt on former President Trump was thwarted while he was playing golf at his own Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. SS agents discovered the muzzle of an AK-47 rifle emerging from bushes about 300 meters away from former President Trump, took preemptive action, and apprehended the suspect. The suspect is a 58-year-old man from Hawaii, and the SS has classified the incident as an "attempted assassination."

This assassination attempt occurred just two months after Trump was shot during a speech in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. With another attempted assassination on a former president and current presidential candidate, the SS is facing increasing criticism over its security failures. Previously, during the July shooting of former President Trump, the SS confirmed that the shooter was on the roof of a building near the campaign venue but failed to prevent the attack. As a result, then-SS Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on July 23, taking responsibility for the security failure.

The U.S. daily The New York Times (NYT) criticized the second assassination attempt on former President Trump, stating it "raised questions about the Secret Service's broad protective capabilities."