Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson will enjoy a "gold standard" of protection now that they have been approved for Secret Service guard, Ronald Kessler, author of
"The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of the Presidents," tells
Newsmax TV.
Newmax broke the story over the weekend that the top two Republican hopefuls were getting early protection.
Fox News confirmed the Newsmax report Monday.
"Private security just cannot compare with Secret Service protection. The Secret Service has tremendous resources, backups, training, and they get instantaneous intelligence from other agencies like the FBI," Kessler, a veteran journalist, said Monday to J.D. Hayworth on "Newsmax Prime."
Watch the full interview with Kessler Monday on "Newsmax Prime," which airs from 8-9 p.m. ET.
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"There's just no comparison and it's long overdue that Donald received protection given the size of his crowds and the fact that he stirs up the crowds and stirs up emotions. That's always a sign that an assassin may be lurking."
As Newsmax has reported, both
Trump and Carson have been the subject of threats.
"So they definitely are getting [protection] and now they're also beefing up Hillary Clinton's protection," Kessler said.
"For all the Secret Service's problems and snafus and scandals, they are the gold standard when it comes to protection as opposed to private security."
Kessler said while Trump is wealthy enough to pay for his own security, his private muscle could never do as well as the feds.
"They are very well trained. They'll take a bullet for the president or the candidate, they're very brave and courageous and there's just a whole bunch of levels of protection that they provide that private security simply can't," he said.
"On such mundane things as going through airport security with Secret Service, they just zip right by because they are law enforcement as opposed to private security, which would have to go through regular security procedures.
"So it makes the life of the candidate easier, on the one hand, although on the other hand it's certainly a burden to have all these agents around."
On Saturday, a Washington source close to the agency's plans confirmed to Newsmax it would give agent protection to Trump and Carson.
The deployment of agents around Republican candidates Trump and Carson is set to begin as early as next week. Approximately two dozen agents will be assigned to each candidate.
Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, has had Secret Service protection since leaving the White House as first lady in 2001, but her detail will be heavily upgraded by the agency's move.
The agency's decision was primarily triggered by a significant number of threats to Carson, including death threats and terrorist chatter, the source said.
The threats to the retired pediatric neurosurgeon have been "off the charts," the source said. Polls show Carson either tied with Trump for front-runner status or in second place.
Armstrong Williams, Carson's business manager, told Newsmax he could neither "confirm nor deny" the Secret Service protection. "We don't comment on security matters involving Dr. Carson," he said.
But Newsmax has learned the Secret Service and other federal agencies, including the FBI, became increasingly alarmed in recent weeks as their own monitoring activities indicated that Carson faced serious danger.
Carson caused a political brouhaha in September when he told Chuck Todd on NBC's "Meet the Press" that a Muslim should not become president.
"I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that," Carson said. He later clarified his remarks, saying any Muslim who believed in Sharia law should be disqualified from serving in the Oval Office.
The source said there was evidence that home-grown terrorists might be targeting a major political candidate like Carson. The Secret Service approached the Carson campaign to offer federal protection.
Both Carson and his campaign strongly resisted the Secret Service's request at first, the source said.
But then Carson reluctantly agreed to the deployment of agents after the agency warned of grave danger and shared certain intelligence.
Unlike Carson, Republican front-runner Trump has officially requested Secret Service protection. The billionaire noted he has drawn "by far the biggest crowds" of any candidate at his events.