Tactics used by Donald Trump's private security team in dealing with protesters are drawing scrutiny among professional Secret Service agents who may soon be tasked to take over his security detail if he stays at the front of the Republican field.
"The Secret Service would not operate that way,"former agency director Ralph Basham told
The Washington Post, referring to an incident involving Schiller in front of Trump Tower this past week.
On Thursday, for example, a longtime body guard for Trump snatched a banner from protester Efrain Galicia, a Mexican immigrant who has lived in the United States for three decades, and then hit him when Galicia tried to get the banner back, reports the
New York Daily News.
The bodyguard also stepped between Trump and Univision's Jorge Ramos two weeks ago, ejecting the journalist from a press conference after he jumped in to ask Trump about his immigration policy.
Trump, like other candidates, is responsible for his own security. So far, federal officials said that only Hillary Clinton, has a federal security detail, as she has lifelong protection as a former first lady.
The price tag could mount quickly to provide details for candidates, according to Basham, who told The Post that it will cost more than $40,000 a day to protect just one candidate.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson will meet with a panel of congressional leaders to determine when Secret Service details will be made available and to whom.
There are
guidelines, though, before a detail is assigned. Candidates must be active in at least 10 primaries, score high in polls, and have contributions of at least $10 million.
But not all candidates will need paid security details, as sitting governors Scott Walker, Chris Christie, John Kasich, and Bobby Jindal already have full-time security teams who are paid from state funds.
Trump's campaign would not say if the latest incident with Schiller will lead to a decision to bring a Secret Service team in to handle his security, and it's even possible that he may keep his own team in place, like Ross Perot did in 1992.
But Basham said that would not make sense, as the Secret Service "has a lot more resources available, even for someone with Donald Trump’s money.”
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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