That is not my purpose in writing this article.
I take the Secret Service at their word that Trump is safe despite what happened on Saturday, but there is no rush to find out the who, what, where, when and how of this unpleasant event — at least not yet.
What has stayed with me, and will never forget, is what happened onstage when the shots were heard and Trump put his hand to his right ear.
I wasn’t on that stage, but I could have been in that situation.
Think of all the unknown men and women who rushed to Trump’s aid.
In another professional life, at another federal agency, I was one of them. What they were trained to do. My primary mission as a State Department special agent was not security protection. I did many activities at home and abroad to protect the national security interests of the United States, one of which was to serve as a security protection agent upon request.
Nothing in my time at the State Department, or in my long and colorful career since, could compare to that solemn moment when I stood at gunpoint as a member of the Guard.
I don’t need to bore you with stories of training, or time on the range, or what did or didn’t happen to prevent disaster.
What I do know is that the armed men and women in black suits who rushed onto the stage when Trump collapsed experienced the worst moment of their lives when, perhaps through no fault of their own, they failed to protect the man they were sworn to protect from all harm and danger.
Ah, we praise our “first responders” — the women and men who sprint to the scenes of shootings, climbing ladders, stopping the bleeding, and pulling frightened children and cats out of trees to safety.
That’s not what I was trained to do, nor were the agents who rushed to Trump’s side when he fell today.
Their job wasn’t to defeat the danger, but to put themselves between the source of the danger and Donald Trump.
Agents were rushing not only to assess Trump’s condition but also to protect themselves from the gunfire heading toward the former president — agents who, like countless other men and women who protect elected officials across the country, had sworn to take the bullets.
Some bystanders like to make fun of those who linger around public officials with frowns and nervous attitudes, so next time take a closer look at the men and women standing vigilantly by.
Their lives are at risk.
During my short escort mission, I was nervous just thinking about what the next day would bring. I might get shot. I didn’t have any body armor at the time. All I had was a gun and handcuffs.
Think about the agents who immediately surrounded Trump with their bodies. What did that mean? Who were they?
When I saw it, I cried.
