SECRET Service agents will face a borderline impossible task in scoping out potential threats in the run-up to Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, a former MI6 spy has told The U.S. Sun.
Thousands of diehard Trump supporters will flock to the iconic venue on Sunday, just days before Election Day.
Trump is seen surrounded by Secret Service agents as he is taken off the stage on July 13 after an assassination attempt. The Secret Service has come under fire for failures that allowed the ex-president to be shot[/caption]
A Secret Service agent stands his post before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally last week[/caption]
Matthew Dunn, an author and former MI6 spy, believes the security will be watertight ahead of the rally[/caption]
It will be Trump’s second rally in New York City. In May, he whipped fans into a frenzy with an event in the South Bronx.
Trump has also held events in Long Island – even though New York hasn’t voted Republican in presidential elections since 1984, and Joe Biden carried it by 23 percentage points in 2020.
Matthew Dunn, an author and former MI6 spy, believes the security will be airtight ahead of the rally – particularly as Trump has been the subject of two attempted assassination bids.
The effort is expected to involve Secret Service agents, the New York City Police Department, private security teams, and Madison Square Garden personnel.
Arena bosses have also rolled out facial recognition technology as part of its security protocol.
“Eyes will be on everyone who is in there,” Dunn said.
Dunn alluded to potential security and logistical challenges different agencies could encounter in the run-up to the rally.
“If you are trying to spot somebody in the lead-up to the rally approaching the arena in the hours preceding the actual address, you’re absolutely in needle in-a-haystack territory,” he said.
“It’s borderline impossible. But, it’s not completely impossible, particularly in today’s age of technology and CCTV, for example.”
Dunn suggested that one of the precautions officials take is to roll out airport-like security measures.
“Within the arena, it could be airport security on steroids,” he said.
“But those measures cannot be applied to Manhattan. It is impossible.”
“Life has to go on. Attempting to turn New York City into a JFK or London Heathrow type of environment will not be possible.
“It would bring the city to a standstill. But there will be measures very close to the arena, particularly in terms of traffic flow.”
Dunn speculated that streets near Madison Square Garden would be closed, and some subway stations might be out of action.
He revealed that the environment in and around Madison Square Garden will be tightly controlled, in contrast to rallies held in an open-air location.
“Madison Square Garden is a captive audience,” he said.
“Trying to smuggle something such as a weapon past security would be very difficult in its own right, but given the VIP attendance for the rally and Donald Trump, then there will be much more security.”
10 Days that Changed America
AN attempted assassination of a former US president, the standing down of a current president, and a political speech by a former wrestler. Senior News reporter Anthony Blair looks back on a crazy 10 days in American politics.
- Saturday, July 13 – Donald Trump is shot during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Republican frontrunner is hit in the ear but stands up and pumps his fist to the crowd. Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, is shot dead but the Secret Service is slammed for suspected security blunders. Ex-fire chief Corey Comperatore is killed protecting his family.
- Sunday, July 14 – President Joe Biden calls on Americans to unite and “cool down” political rhetoric in the wake of Trump’s shooting. The Democrat had faced growing calls since his disastrous performance in June’s CNN debate. Shocking video reveals how close Trump came to being killed after turning his head at the last minute.
- Monday, July 15 – The Republican National Convention kicks off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Trump is formally nominated as the Republican candidate. An emotional-looking Trump makes his first appearance since surviving the shooting wearing a large ear bandage. It quickly becomes a must-have fashion item at the RNC. Ohio Senator JD Vance is named as Trump’s running mate. Previously anti-Trump, Vance at just 39 is an inexperienced choice, but seen as having a connection with ordinary Americans. In an interview, Biden admits it was a “mistake” to talk about putting Trump in “the bullseye” days before the assassination attempt.
- Tuesday, July 16 – The FBI warns of more potential violence in the wake of Trump’s shooting. Intelligence claims Iran had a separate plot to assassinate Trump, but there is no proven link to Crooks. Biden returns to the campaign trail for the first time since the assassination attempt and insists he isn’t stepping down.
- Wednesday, July 17 – Joe Biden tests positive for Covid, just days after saying he would drop out of the presidential race if he was diagnosed with a medical condition. It intensifies the calls for him to step aside with Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom floated as potential replacements. At the RNC, JD Vance makes his first speech since being selected as Trump’s VP pick, to the delight of the MAGA crowd.
- Thursday, July 18 – Donald Trump addresses the RNC, his first speech since surviving an attempted assassination. He appears slower and more subdued than usual but gives the longest convention acceptance speech in US history. Just before he goes on, former wrestler Hulk Hogan rips his shirt off and tells cheering crowds “Trumpomania” will sweep America. Former First Lady Melania, who has barely been seen on the campaign trail, makes an appearance but does not speak. Barack Obama joins calls for Biden to step aside.
- Friday, July 19 – President Biden appears to consider resigning, as a source says he is in a “contemplative stage” while isolating with Covid. Video emerges showing Biden appearing to lean into the wrong woman after mistaking her for his wife Jill. Meanwhile, the world’s biggest tech outage sparks travel chaos for Republicans leaving the RNC in Milwaukee.
- Saturday, July 20 – Donald Trump holds his first campaign rally since the shooting in Butler. He appears in Michigan without his ear bandage. His former doctor Ronny Jackson describes his injuries. He appears in his first interview alongside his running mate Vance. Senior Democrat Nancy Pelosi speaks for the first time since being linked to growing calls for Biden to resign. Meanwhile, Biden’s reelection campaign continues to insist he is running, as a spokesperson slams Trump’s rally remarks as showing he is “focused only on himself.”
- Sunday, July 21 – Joe Biden announces he isn’t running in November in a shock letter, just hours after insisting he was staying in the race. He is the first incumbent to step down in their first term since 1968. Biden endorses Kamala Harris for president as senior Dems through their support behind the Vice President. The news appears to throw the Republicans off their stride. Biden vows to continue his term until November’s election.
- Monday, July 22 – Kamala Harris raises a record $81 million in 24 hours as she secures the Democratic candidacy. She also inherits some $91 million in leftover campaign funds from Biden. Harris gives her first speech since Biden stepped out, and speaks to the president on the phone, although he doesn’t appear in person. Under-pressure Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle appears on Capitol Hill and faces increasing calls to resign over the shooting of Trump. She admits the Secret Service “failed” on July 13 and resigns the following day.
Despite Madison Square Garden’s controlled environment, security risks must still be mitigated, according to Dunn.
“If you speak to security professionals of all different guises, their natural inclination is to lock everything down, be obtrusive, and be in everybody’s face.
“So that they can do their job, which is, protect the VIP or whatever it is they’ve got to protect.”
However, the security expert noted how agents are conscious that politicians want to interact with their fans.
Eyes will be on everyone who is in there
Matthew Dunn
“They are very sensitive to the fact that politicians want to engage with the public,” he said.
“They want to do their job. They do not want every other person in and around them to be in uniform carrying guns.
“Politicians want to be accessible. They want to be approachable. They want to be seen in front of the people they’re addressing.
“So it is a very fine balance. It does cause frustrations, of course, for any security professional because it’s a protective operation, after all, but they are attuned to that.”
ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS
Trump’s rally is being held in New York nine days before Election Day.
During the 2024 campaign, he has been the subject of two assassination attempts
But, Dunn suggested that the controlled environment within Madison Square Garden could play to Trump’s advantage – compared to the “fiasco” that unfolded in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July.
“If I were advising Donald Trump on security issues, I would say, ‘Look, you can go out on that stage and feel reassured,’” he said.
“It is highly unlikely that there’ll be anything that happens, and even if it does, we’ll be all over it because this is a controlled environment.’”
Trump suffered a graze to the ear after he was shot at by lone wolf gunman Thomas Crooks.
Secret Service agents bundled Trump to the ground, and the gunman was taken out by a sniper.
In the days following the attempted assassination, it emerged Crooks used a drone to survey the scene at the Butler Farm Show – hours before Trump took to the stage.
Trump was also the target of an apparent assassination at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September.
Shots were fired in the vicinity of where Trump was playing golf.
He was bundled onto a golf cart and whisked to safety.
Ryan Wesley Routh was identified as the shooter and was charged with the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate.
Routh pled not guilty as he was arraigned.
During the probe, the feds uncovered a letter in which he promised he would pay someone $150,000 to “finish the job.”
WHAT THE POLLS SAY
Millions of voters have already cast their ballots as the country and world move closer to Election Day.
Trump and Kamala Harris continue to pound the battleground states, which will ultimately decide who ends up in the White House.
Races are tight across the country, but Real Clear Politics’ analysis suggests Trump may be in the driving seat.
Trump also holds a clear advantage in the Polymarket betting industry.
His chances of victory have rocketed in recent weeks, while Harris’ campaign appears to have stalled.
Harris’ team has voiced concerns about cracks emerging in the Blue Wall, the key states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, as reported by NBC News.
Her campaign is fearing that not all states will vote the same way.
One official, who hasn’t been named, told NBC they fear North Carolina is slipping away from the Democrats.
Former president Trump held onto North Carolina by a margin of just over a percentage point in 2020.
