Former President Donald Trump was poised to conduct a town hall in Michigan on Tuesday as his campaign continues following his recent commendation of Secret Service personnel who reportedly prevented an assassination attempt at his Florida golf course.

The Secret Service has faced criticism for letting a suspect, who was armed with an assault-style rifle, get within a few hundred yards of Trump during an event at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach on Sunday. This incident occurred two months after a bullet barely missed Trump during a shooting at a Pennsylvania campaign rally.

During a conversation on the X Spaces platform late Monday, Trump attributed the actions of potential assassins to the rhetoric from Democrats. He also stated that his Secret Service detail should be expanded but praised the agent who shot at the attacker and the one who quickly secured Trump’s safety by escorting him away in a golf cart.

The suspect discarded his firearm in the bushes where he had been hiding before fleeing. Trump further commended a civilian who captured photos of the suspect’s license plate, which helped law enforcement apprehend him shortly thereafter.

“The agents performed remarkably, and the civilian was outstanding,” he remarked.

Trump’s only disappointment: “I really wanted to make that last putt, but we thought ‘let’s get out of here.'”

The suspect, Ryan Routh, appeared in federal court on Monday; authorities reported that he did not fire any shots. He is facing charges for firearm possession as a convicted felon and having a firearm with an altered serial number.

Updates:

∎ The suspect had no direct line of sight to Trump and did not fire, according to Ronald Rowe, acting director of the Secret Service.

∎ Rowe stated that Trump’s presence at the golf course was not on his public agenda, noting it’s uncertain if the suspect was aware of Trump’s attendance.

Secret Service under scrutiny once more

The Secret Service did not identify a gunman hiding in the bushes at the West Palm Beach golf course until Trump was approximately 500 yards away, prompting further concerns about the agency’s capacity to protect the GOP nominee. Rowe commended his agents for preventing what he described as the second assassination attempt against Trump in as many months. He characterized their actions as a “textbook” example of identifying and neutralizing an armed threat.

Rowe indicated that the Secret Service has significantly strengthened Trump’s security since he was shot in the ear during an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. He had previously expressed embarrassment over lapses in security during that rally.

Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, announced a state investigation into the incident that occurred Sunday.

“The public deserves clarity regarding the would-be assassin and how he managed to come within 500 yards,” DeSantis wrote on social media. Read more here.

− Josh Meyer

‘Moving bubble’ of agents safeguards Trump during golf outings

A “moving bubble” of U.S. Secret Service agents effectively repelled the second assassination attempt against Donald Trump while he was playing golf on Sunday. A.T. Smith, the deputy director of the Secret Service from 2012 to 2015, remarked that agents balance their duties by accommodating other golfers while discreetly scanning the area for threats as Trump plays. Smith explained that Trump’s protective team monitors a range of three to five holes ahead of and behind him, utilizing advanced technology to detect any signs of danger.

“It appears we continued our established protocol,” commented former Secret Service Director John Magaw.

Contributing: Reuters