Trump to get bulletproof shield for outdoor rallies after assassination attempt

AP Photo/John Bazemore

Former President Donald Trump is set to receive unprecedented security measures for his campaign rallies following the assassination attempt in July. Sources reveal that Trump will be shielded by bulletproof glass during outdoor events, a precaution typically reserved for sitting presidents.

The Republican candidate's security detail will be further strengthened by additional Secret Service agents, some of whom will be reassigned from President Joe Biden's team. This unusual move, as noted by a Secret Service official to the New York Times, has been deemed necessary in light of the July 13 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, which left Trump with a grazed ear and resulted in one audience member's death.

Key developments in Trump's campaign security include bulletproof glass installations around Trump's podium at outdoor rallies, the reassignment of Secret Service agents from Biden's detail to Trump's team, multiple sets of ballistic glass to be stored across the US for rapid deployment and increased protective details for Trump, Kamala Harris and their running mates. 

Since the assassination attempt, Trump has held nearly a dozen campaign events, all indoors. However, sources indicate that the former president has expressed a desire to return to the large outdoor rallies he favors, once his safety can be assured.

The enhanced security plan was initiated by Kimberly Cheatle, the former Secret Service director who resigned in July after describing the Butler incident as the agency's "most significant operational failure" in decades.

In a recent conversation on X with Elon Musk, Trump expressed his intention to return to the site of the assassination attempt for a rally in October. However, the exact date for Trump's first outdoor rally under these new security arrangements remains unclear.