Former Secret Service agent shares thoughts on Trump assassination attempt

Former Secret Service agent Paul Nenninger — a native of Cape Girardeau who has served on the Cape Girardeau Public Schools Board of Education — weighed in with thoughts about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday, July 13, in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Nenninger served in the Secret Service under President Gerald Ford to President Bill Clinton.

He said he would not do a critique how the Secret Service agents did not know a shooter was there in advance, saying since he has not walked those grounds he couldn’t evaluate it.

“I don't have any idea why it (the shooting) happened the way it did,” Nenninger said.

He said he also has seen a lot of criticism toward the Secret Service taking too long to get Trump into vehicles and away from the rally. Nenninger said while it may have seemed like a long time but he thought it took only about three minutes to evacuate Trump.

He added that from his personal opinion, it seemed like the agents thought they may have known something was going on.

“Because there were three people right behind the stage. And it kind of looked like they were ready,” Nenninger said.

“It looked like just the people in, were in the very perfect position. That doesn't always happen around a protectee because ... they want everybody to see him.”

He said there can be a lot of pushback from the people Secret Service agents protect because they don’t want the agents too close or in certain places at times.

Nenninger also pointed out that Trump’s sites, rallies or setups are pretty much the same most of the time.

He said in his time with the service, the line of sight to the service’s protectee that they are responsible for can reach out “quite a distance.”

“They actually feel kind of safe if it's (line of sight) beyond 1,000 yards,” Nenninger said.

He said history has shown that when there is an attack on a president, protection details ramp up. He said that he’s at a loss of what the service might do except give Trump similar security as sitting President Joe Biden.

“Presidents matter most,” Nenninger said.

He said while having more protection for both Biden and Trump could create a strain on Secret Service agents, the schedules of when and where they appear do as well.

“Trump is on the go constantly. ... I guess he's sometimes on two or three flights a day,” Nenninger said.