Poll: Only three out of 10 Americans trust the Secret Service to protect the presidential candidate
A majority of Americans do not trust the Secret Service to protect presidential candidates after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, according to a new survey by news agency AP and polling institute Norc. Only around three in ten Americans are extremely or very confident that agents of the agency can safeguard the candidates for the White House from violence before the election. And around seven in ten respondents believe that the Secret Service bears at least some responsibility for the attack on Trump. About four in ten saw a high level of guilt.
The Secret Service, under the Department of Homeland Security, has been under scrutiny since a young shooter managed to climb onto a roof near a rally site in the state of Pennsylvania on July 13 and fire several shots at the stage where Trump was speaking. The former president was injured on the ear, a spectator was killed, and two others were injured. The shooter was shot by Secret Service agents.
The latest survey was conducted after the resignation of Kimberly Cheatle as director of the Secret Service. The new acting director, Ronald Rowe, said this week at a hearing before Congress that he was ashamed at the crime scene in Butler, Pennsylvania. It was inexcusable that the roof used by the suspect was not secured.
Half of the respondents in the AP and Norc survey found that the attempted assassination of Trump was largely due to the political polarization in the US. Around four in ten said the widespread availability of guns was to blame - though this point was more likely to be agreed upon by Democrats than Republicans, who tended to see the Secret Service as more responsible.
The AP and Norc survey revealed that the attempted assassination of Trump on his rally site in Pennsylvania had significantly affected Americans' confidence in the Secret Service, as only 30% expressed extreme or very confidence in the agency's ability to protect presidential candidates. The latest survey also revealed that 70% of respondents believe the Secret Service holds some responsibility for the attack on Trump.
