Bernie Sanders: Secret Service Leaps To His Defense But Donald Trump Questions Armed Guards For ‘Anti-Gun’ Candidate Hillary Clinton
From the archive: published Jun 1, 2016, 10 years ago. Details may have changed since.
Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, and Hillary Clinton are protected by Secret Service. Monday evening, those Secret Service agents got a chance to prove their diligence and bravery as the Oakland, California, stage was rushed by animal rights activists who broke through a barricade. Direct Action Everywhere was only seeking Sanders’ attention for their cause, going on stage was just too much and alerted the highly trained team to act.
Secret service rushed into action by leaping onto the platform, according to CNN. Agents embraced the candidate to shield him from potential gunfire, pulled him away from the podium, and apprehended the activists, who could have just as easily been assassins or terrorists. Fortunately, they were not.
Bernie Sanders supporters themselves, the Direct Action Everywhere protesters explained their actions in a press release quoted on CNN.
“Activists do not protest at Bernie Sanders rallies in opposition to Sanders himself, but rather to pull Sanders in their direction.”
Donald Trump has also had more than a few scares since he embarked on his controversial run for office. In addition to government paid Secret Service agents, Trump employs his own staff of security guards and also takes advantage of any security offered by the cities and venues he speaks in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8PyJb-tDl0
Slop Sandwich gives a humorous first-hand account of what it is like to be a stadium guard, who happens to have his first day on the job, coincide with a Donald Trump rally. The skinny college student turned protector of a potential leader of the free world tells his story in a hilarious post. The passage below describes the confusion of guarding an entrance to a huge political rally.
“I was initially startled by the ferocity with which the first batch of patrons entered the arena, although I assumed all that excitement had been bottling up for three days and three nights of waiting in line. The next wave of people were much slower to enter but no less strange. From tailored suits to America-themed bathrobes, and everything in between, I, like Nick Carraway seeing New York for this first time, was enchanted and repelled by the grossly inexhaustible variety of life.”
Bernie Sanders made do with this type of arena security until February of this year according to CNN. Only occasionally hiring local security service officers for a few of his bigger stops. He had no regular personal security guards and depended on his own wits and arena security guys like the Slop Sandwich writer to protect his safety through packed stadiums seating more than 20,000 people.
Donald Trump and even Ben Carson had Secret Service protection before Sanders. Their protection began in the fall of 2015.
Bernie Sanders has been protected by Secret Service since February 21, 2016. He had to request the protection, according to a February CNN article. He was the fourth candidate to receive such protection, according to CNN. It was deemed that Sanders required the protection he asked for due to the enormous crowds he drew. While, for the most part, Sanders is surrounded by devoted followers at rallies, it is not unimaginable that an assassin could slip in.
Crooked Hillary wants to get rid of all guns and yet she is surrounded by bodyguards who are fully armed. No more guns to protect Hillary!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 21, 2016
Always getting in that quick jab, Trump scores a cute zinger, but of course, Hillary Clinton’s security guards are not going anywhere, nor are they putting away their guns, even if she asked them to. Secret Service agents are highly trained and ready to lay down their lives for the political figures they guard.
Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, and Hillary Clinton are all, quite necessarily, protected by Secret Service.