Former Secret Service agent discusses response to attempted assassination of Trump

NORTH SALT LAKE — As shots were fired toward former President Donald Trump Saturday, U.S. Secret Service agents swiftly jumped into action.

It’s something Dennis Crandall was trained to do for many years.

“I was a Secret Service agent for 30 years. I started in the Los Angeles field office in 1970,” he said.

He guarded several vice presidents, including Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush, just to name a few. He even recalled the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.

“I was with his daughter Maureen in Los Angeles when the assassination attempt took place,” he said.

He said things changed after that attempt. And since his retirement in 2000, so has the job, including technology and research.

“It looks like they were using a newer procedure than what we used when I was there in the way they escorted him,” he said.

He said he did not want to speculate what happened Saturday. However, he was impressed with the response to former President Trump on the podium and the counter snipers to neutralize the threat.

“I don’t know if you remember the Reagan footage; they double them over and slam them into the limo as soon as possible. Here they had President Trump on the stage standing up, but they already knew the threat was neutralized.”

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Questions and answers

Crandall said he knows there are many questions remaining about what happened on Saturday, and he himself is eager for answers.

Since the attack, President Joe Biden called for an independent review of Secret Service security measures. The House Oversight Committee Chair has also asked the Secret Service Director to testify in a hearing on July 22.

“The service will be held up for a lot of scrutiny as a result of this. And that’s fine. That’s what we’re all about. So, I hope it’s done very objectively,” Crandall said.

Biden also asked for a review of security ahead of the Republican National Convention. Crandall said the Secret Service plans for events like that months to a year in advance. He anticipated Secret Service agents will fine tune what’s already been planned.

“I don’t think there’s going to be much of a last-minute effort,” Crandall said.

The Secret Service later announced it is making no changes to its security plan Monday.

Even though he’s been retired for more than 20 years, he says the job remains the same.

“If your political agenda is part of your thinking, you’re in the wrong business. Some people think ‘Well, if I don’t like that guy, I’m not giving it my full effort.’ If that’s the case, you’re in the wrong business,” Crandall said.

Crandall said he hopes this situation “will have a positive result in some way in terms of the rhetoric about civility to both sides of the aisle.”