00:00attempts continue escalating at a much higher rate than his first term.
00:04Yeah, he's usually been dodging bullets, making Secret Service's job all that much harder.
00:07And the threats also extend now to other members of his family. So joining us now,
00:12former Secret Service Special Agent Newsmax contributor Charles Moreno, along with former
00:16Secret Service agent Barry Donatio. So Charles, I remember back during the first term, the
00:21president would spend a couple of weeks at Bedminster during each August recess. This year,
00:26he's only been there maybe a couple of weekends at max. Do you think this is because of all of
00:31the
00:31threats that he faces right now? Well, you know, let me start with this. The methodologies and
00:37processes of the Secret Service are sound as long as they're implemented correctly. And so the agency
00:44on top of that needs to keep going out, finding the best in the country that want a career with
00:50the Secret Service and making sure they are trained and equipped to the max. The other thing is
00:57utilizing all the resources in a way that does not become so consistent that it becomes predictable,
01:05to your point about Bedminster. It's about using all these resources in a way that keeps adversaries
01:12on their heels. Unpredictability is the friend of the Secret Service here.
01:18So Barry, the president's closest calls include that rally in Butler, as we know,
01:22his Florida golf club that happened while he was golfing, the White House Correspondents
01:25Dinner. Again, what does Secret Service do to stay vigilant during times like these
01:30when it seems like threats are really at an all-time high?
01:35Right. Great to be with you and Charles again. As you can imagine, they're deploying the best of the
01:40best, the highest trained, the best equipped. The methodology, like Charles says, is always changing.
01:45It's evolving by the day. And let's not forget, we are at war, okay? And there was a big difference
01:53protecting a president during wartime and peacetime. And the U.S. took out the supreme leader of Iran.
01:59So that means for the Iranians, President Trump, it's open season on him. So they are doing everything
02:05in their power to protect him in all domains. And they're going to continue to do it. And so far,
02:10they've done a great job. Yeah, Charles, I mean, to that point, I mean, we also see the family getting
02:14a lot of threats. You've got Iran posting about Barron and his whereabouts at school. They also
02:19posted about the first lady and her shopping habits or where she's at Bedminster. I mean,
02:24this president doesn't just have the White House and maybe the ranch like George W. did. He's got
02:29multiple golf courses. He's going everywhere. It's got to be a nightmare to try to secure everything
02:33with him and his adult family. Well, it's true. And on the intelligence side, you bring up Iran,
02:40and correctly so. The thing that the Secret Service needs to pay attention to, and I know they are,
02:48is that Iran is not only using these statements as propaganda and some part of psychological warfare,
02:55if you will, against the policymakers and their families. What they're also doing is they're
03:01throwing these threats out to see who grabs onto them, who latches onto them. And that can be
03:06somebody that's in the United States that was allowed to come in under the Biden administration
03:11across the border. And it can also be U.S. citizens that are radicalized, either political,
03:19religiously, ideologically, whatever it may be, to say, you know what, I really don't care a great
03:24deal about what's going on with Iran. But you know what? I agree with them on this. And I'm going
03:29to
03:30now carry out these threats into operations and form a plan of attack. So it's kind of the perfect
03:36storm in terms of how this can mobilize really anybody from someone that's not right in their
03:44mind to somebody that truly is radicalized and aligned with Iran's ideologies, or those are their
03:50proxies. And Barry, another major security task for Secret Service right now is securing the GOP's
03:55midterm convention. That's just nine days away in Dallas, Texas. This is usually at a large venue.
04:01Thousands of people will be attending. So what's their strategy here to keep the president and his
04:05family safe while he's there? Right. I imagine the Secret Service is going to treat it like a
04:10national security event, just like they're protecting the Olympics or just like the Republican
04:16National Convention in Milwaukee. It's going to be just like that. So everything is going to come
04:21into play. You're going to have tactical teams. All technologies are going to be used, even air
04:25support. When I was in Milwaukee with President Bush, even in the rivers, there were Coast Guard boats with
04:33belt-fed machine guns, as you can imagine. And I was glad they were there. So everything comes into play.
04:39The president is the priority. And he is, no kidding, being hunted. And when these adversaries
04:46can't get him, they look to go after his children or even his cousins. And that's why they need to
04:52be
04:52prepared. Yeah, Charles, to that point, though, usually with the convention, the Olympics, you've got
04:5710 years, you've got multiple years to prepare for this. With this midterm convention, you've got a few
05:01months maybe to get ready. Yeah, you know, the structure of the national special security events,
05:07as Barry pointed out, is pretty nimble. And I've been an advocate that following Butler,
05:15the NSSE structure should be used for presidential visits. Do we have any higher priority than the
05:21protection of the president of the United States and their family? So look, anywhere the president goes,
05:27it should be a whole government approach anyway. It typically is. The Secret Service should take
05:32the lead under statute, being responsible for that protection, and turning it on. And as far as the
05:39children go, look, I've protected the children of presidents during wartime. And it's a tough job.
05:45But again, it's that unpredictability, especially whether it's stagnant locations, like at universities or
05:52colleges. Right. So it's a tough job. The Secret Service is very good at it.
05:56Of course, it looks like a different model than what you see on TV standing next to the president.
06:02And it works. Yeah. All right. Charles, Barry, great to see you guys this morning. Good discussion.
