Secret Service Targeted by Misogynistic Reactions After Donald Trump Assassination Attempt

Just hours after a group of Secret Service agents risked their lives to protect Donald Trump from gunfire by would-be assassins, members of the former president's security team themselves came under attack.

There should be no women in the Secret Service, wrote right-wing commentator Matt Walsh on X, posting a video showing three female agents loading Trump into an SUV. These women are supposed to be the best, and none of the best in the job are women.

Amid scrutiny of the agency's alleged failures to prevent Saturday's assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, misogynistic views like Walsh's have been endorsed by several influential voices on the right.

X owner Elon Musk said he believed the women on the team were too small to cover Trump and were not selected based on merit, while hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman suggested that so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies contributed to the incident.

The backlash wasn’t limited to the loudest voices on social media. Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, who gained notoriety for saying we’re not going to fix the problem after a school shooting in his state, told Fox News that Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was a DEI person and suggested that’s what happens when you don’t put the best players in place.

He and other commentators have referred to Cheatle's pledge to ensure that 30% of the agency's staff are women by the end of the decade.

U.S. Secret Service agents after the attempted assassination of Trump. Kimberly Cheatle, the agency's director, is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee on Monday. Evan Vucci/AP

Burchett sits on the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, which is scheduled to question Cheatle, the second woman to chair the agency and who rose through the ranks over a decades-long career, about the assassination attempt at a hearing scheduled for Monday.

Advocates for greater diversity in the national security workforce say they are concerned about the impact of such rhetoric.

People feel safer in numbers, and so more people like Tim Burchett say things. [that is] “It’s so obviously misogynistic and sexist that others who already feel it feel like they can get away with saying it,” said Gina Bennett, who spent 34 years in the CIA and is an advocate for the inclusion of women in the defense ranks.

“I think it continues to make sexism, racism and misogyny acceptable because people become numb to it,” she added.

The Secret Service did not respond to a request for comment, but the agency has previously said all agents are held to the same standards. A spokesman for Burchett said: “The congressman has said repeatedly: Put the best player, coach.”

The attacks on the Secret Service's so-called DEI program, which have also been endorsed by former Attorney General William Barr and Republican Congressman Cory Mills, who is a former Army sniper, are the latest front in a long-running war against diversity and inclusion policies waged by Trump's allies in Congress, in the courts and on college campuses.

Despite protests from the Biden administration, the latest National Defense Authorization Act passed with a clause prohibiting the government from creating new DEI positions within the Department of Defense, from employing anyone whose primary duty is to develop diversity and inclusion policies, and from measuring the results of those programs.

Donald Trump arrives on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The security guards surrounding him were all men. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Although the Secret Service has employed female special agents for more than half a century, its hiring policies have only recently drawn the ire of Republican politicians.

This year, the House Oversight Committee brought up DEI policies in a letter to Cheatle following an incident involving a Secret Service agent on Vice President Kamala Harris's protection team who was later removed from his position after an alleged attack on his superior.

The case has raised concerns within the agency about the hiring and selection process for the officer: particularly whether prior incidents in his employment history were overlooked during the hiring process … as part of a diversity, equity and inclusion effort, wrote committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican.

As the Secret Service has been plagued by scandals involving male colleagues, such as the alleged recruitment of prostitutes in Colombia and drunken driving near the White House, the response to Trump's attack has been met with sharp criticism. [on] Specific physical characteristics can be used to incriminate an entire population, said Lauren Bean Buitta, founder of Girl Security, which advocates for diversity in security services.

Recommended

Bennett, who now teaches at Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies, said: “Someone is going to have to show me the medical anatomical evidence that being born with a uterus somehow makes me less able to identify a threat and neutralize it.”

Despite attacks on diversity and inclusion, there has been a significant increase in the number of young women interested in national security careers, according to Girl Security. Buitta said it would be extremely effective if the leaders of the respective presidential campaigns condemned sexist comments, which she said could further fuel hate.

But Trump's harsh criticism of women may already be starting to pay off. On Monday night, as he headed to the Republican convention in Milwaukee, the former president was surrounded by a dozen Secret Service agents, all of them men.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos