Former President Trump leaped to the defense of a female Secret Service agent who “shielded” him during an assassination attempt, after she faced blistering online criticism.
“I don’t know how they didn’t get hit,” Trump told thousands at a St. Cloud, Minnesota, rally on Saturday as he recalled how “bullets were flying” and the security detail had rushed to shield his body.
“Every one of them – there wasn’t one that was slow. A woman who was on my right, she was shielding me,” he said. “Beautiful person – she was shielding me, everything she could. And she got crushed. And she got criticized by the fake news because she wasn’t tall enough.”
Trump said that the unidentified female agent was “so brave” and “wanted to take a bullet” for the 45th president.
“Well, you know, she wasn’t tall enough. Because I’m tall, and she wasn’t tall enough. And she was criticized – she was so brave, she was shielding me with everything, she wanted to take a bullet, because the bullets were flying. Incredible.”
Following the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt on July 13, the female agent was criticized by online pundits as well as from Trump donors.
“Watch these female agents who have no clue what to do, or what they are doing,” conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza wrote on X following the incident. “The Secret Service has been trying to raise the number of its female recruits to meet a 30% goal. This is DEI!”
