Trump: I should have Secret Service protection

[brooklynite]

Source: The Hill

NEW YORK — Donald Trump on Tuesday said the Secret Service should be giving him protection — and he suggested partisan politics might be why the agency isn’t providing it.

In a 90-minute interview with The Hill, the Republican presidential front-runner pointed out that he has attracted large crowds just like Barack Obama did eight years ago as a White House candidate and that by this point in the 2008 cycle, the Illinois senator had Secret Service protection.

Trump doesn’t, and he’s not happy about it.

“I want to put them on notice because they should have a liability,” he said. “Personally, I think if Obama were doing as well as me he would’ve had Secret Service [earlier]. I have by far the biggest crowds.”

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/256850-trump-i-should-have-secret-service-protection

---

I'm guessing it's not for safety, it's because it makes him look more important.

[TheBlackAdder]

1. It looks like someone is scared of the Mexican Drug Cartel! nt

[ashling]

20. ..

[wordpix]

2. and if he gets it, so should the other 14 repukes and 5 Dems running?

I thought he was a small gov-shouldn't-spend-anything repuke like the rest.

He can fricking afford his own security detail

[Maeve]

3. Pay for it yourself. Always wanting free stuff....eom

[TygrBright]

4. Wait... wasn't he gonna spend his OWN money on the campaign? Doesn't that include security? n/t

[msongs]

5. so he hasn't asked for it yet complains? btw bernie has by far the biggest crowds. nt

[secondwind]

6. he is such pompous jackass... Obama rec'd death threats etc.. that is why he got SS.

[BlueStater]

7. Ugh, he whines like a five year old.

Has a bigger crybaby ever ran for president? The day this toolbag goes away will be a wonderful day for this country.

[Warpy]

8. No, buster, you should put that inflated ego on a diet and pay for your own damn goons.

Now I'm sure you're already doing that TheDonald, but you're a lot richer than we the taxpayers, you've bragged about that often enough, and you can afford to pay them a hell of a lot easier than we can.

IOW, TheDon, go fuck yourself.

[yardwork]

9. Trump is asking for free stuff again.

[truthisfreedom]

10. Is his life in peril?

Has he received threats?

[gwheezie]

11. I thought he was packing heat

Didn't he just tell us he was a good guy with a gun? According to the NRA he should be fine

[truthisfreedom]

13. Will the SS work with a guy who packs heat?

I wonder. They probably don't want to get shot by friendly fire.

[Blasphemer]

12. Definitely an ego thing... the rules about this are pretty clear

Trump would like to think that his candidacy has the historical significance (and accompanying security concerns) as Obama's did but it doesn't. He's a media celebrity who has created a sideshow people like to gawk at. The only people interested in taking him out are members of his own party, and they have better ways of doing so than trying to off him.

[Gothmog]

14. This is just another way to ask for attention

[2naSalit]

18. No sh*t...

He already HAS his own goon squad, he just wants us to pay for them. Just watch those documentaries about how he screws everyone in his path, he has a very large entourage packing heat already... he just wants the attention and MORE taxpayer funded subsidies, assbite that he is.

[MynameisBlarney]

15. Oh for fucks sake.

You don't matter enough for Secret Service protection.

And you keep braggin about how rich you are, yet you're apparently too cheap to hire bodyguards.

[Jester Messiah]

16. Obviously he should hire his own, classier, top-quality bodyguards. [nt]

-

[underpants]

17. He already has his own goon squad

The same goon who forced Jorge Ramos out of the press conference did this:


http://m.nydailynews.com/news/national/trump-security-guard-hits-protester-face-video-article-1.2348516

[2naSalit]

19. He sure does...

he just wants us to pay for them.

[melm00se]

21. Secret Service Protection for Presidential candidates

http://www.secretservice.gov/about/faqs/

Who receives protection?

The Secret Service DOES NOT determine who qualifies for protection, nor is the Secret Service empowered to independently initiate candidate protection.

Under 18 U.S.C.' 3056(a)(7), "[m]ajor Presidential and Vice Presidental candidates," as identified by the Secretary of Homeland Security, are eligible for Secret Service protection.

Title 18 U.S.C.' 3056(a)(7) authorizes the U.S. Secret Service to provide protection for major presidential and vice presidential candidates:

Protection is authorized by the DHS Secretary after consultation with the Congressional Advisory Committee
The Congressional Advisory Committee includes: Speaker of the House, House Minority Leader, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, and one additional member selected by the others

Criteria have been established to assist the DHS Secretary and the advisory committee in their decision making (as of 2008). Candidates must:

Be publically announced
Have some degree of prominence as shown by opinion polls
Be actively campaigning and entered in at least 10 state primaries
Be seeking the nomination of a qualified party
Have qualified for matching funds in the amount of at least $100,000
Have received contributions totaling $10 million

Title 18 U.S.C.' 3056(a)(7) states that the U.S. Secret Service is also authroized to protect spouses of major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates, as identified by the DHS Secretary, within 120 days of the general Presidential election. Some candidates have received protection earlier in the campaign pursuant to Presidential memoranda.

[Chemisse]

23. So he would qualify if he had sought matching funds?

And had received hefty contributions?

Interesting. He actually might have cause to complain if he is only being denied protection because he's financing his own campaign.

I would've thought the protection would've been restricted to those who have already won their party's nomination.

On edit, polling at 24% is not really 'prominence', in my opinion.

[LynneSin]

24. 24% in a GOP only poll

Hardly a poll of the entire United States and we're not 120 days from the General Election.

[Chemisse]

26. Good point.

[Blasphemer]

27. Even if he fulfilled all of the criteria, it's subject to the discretion of the DHS and committee

whether protection is actually warranted, which makes sense. Just because a candidate qualifies doesn't mean she or she actually needs protection. Plus, for a candidate who didn't meet all the criteria, legitimate safety concerns could lead to an order of protection anyway.

[Chemisse]

28. Ahh, I see.

So they have a little flexibility.

[JoePhilly]

22. But Loser bullets would never dare to hit him in the first place.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

25. But I thought the government couldn't do anything right.

[tavernier]

29. And the answer is, of course,

All of the above.

[smirkymonkey]

30. What a pompous ass!

Shut up Donald. You are nothing but a ridiculous joke.

[christx30]

31. Some good information from Slate, 2004:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2004/02/how_secret_service_agents_are_allotted.html

relevant criteria here:

Once a request is filed, the Secret Service then reviews the candidate's financial and electoral status to see whether he or she qualifies. The guidelines stipulate that, in order to receive protection, a candidate must enjoy "national prominence," receive 10 percent or more of the vote in two consecutive primaries or caucuses, and qualify for federal matching funds in excess of $100,000. In lieu of the matching funds criteria, a candidate can also qualify by having raised more than $2 million in contributions. Lastly, the candidate must be running for a party that received at least 10 percent of the popular vote in the previous election, which disqualifies the likes of Libertarian front-runners Michael Barnarik and Gary Nolan. (As a result, it's not clear that Perot would even have been eligible for protection in '92.) The rules change a bit after April 1, when candidates can qualify for protection by virtue of having received 10 percent of his or her party's committed delegates.

[truthisfreedom]

32. Hey thedon, at this point, no big loss.

You're a liability to our country.