Trump Calls for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Receive Secret Service Protection

On Monday, former President Donald Trump openly called for independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to receive protection from the Secret Service, following the failed assassination attempt on his own life on Saturday.

As reported by the Daily Caller, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to voice his support for Kennedy. Kennedy himself had previously requested Secret Service protection on multiple occasions, but had been denied any such protection six different times by the Biden Administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Instead, the Kennedy campaign spent millions of dollars on a private security detail.

“In light of what is going on in the world today, I believe it is imperative that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. receive Secret Service protection — immediately,” Trump declared. “Given the history of the Kennedy Family, this is the obvious right thing to do!”

President Trump was referencing the fate of both Kennedy’s father, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and his uncle, President John F. Kennedy. President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22nd, 1963, while Senator Kennedy was shot on the campaign trail on June 5th, 1968 and died the next day, as a leading candidate for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination that year.

The most recent request from the Kennedy campaign had been filed in early June. A DHS spokesman said on Sunday that the agency “has received the request for protection and will review it with due consideration.”

“The review process relies on a thorough Secret Service threat assessment and a recommendation from a bipartisan Congressional Advisory Committee,” the spokesman continued. “Ultimately, based on that assessment and the recommendation of the advisory committee, the Secretary makes a determination.”

President Trump’s statement comes after he only narrowly survived an assassination attempt on Saturday, July 13th, during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The gunman narrowly missed his head, grazing his right ear, while 50-year-old rally attendee Corey Comperatore was killed and two others were seriously injured; the gunman was killed by a Secret Service sniper moments later. President Trump made his first public appearance since the shooting on Monday night, during the first night of the 2024 Republican National Convention.