Secret Service tells Trump it needs to bolster security for him to safely golf

The head of the Secret Service told former President Trump in the wake of a second potential assassination attempt that the agency would need to bolster security for his future golf outings, an official familiar with the matter confirmed to The Hill.

Trump met Monday with Ronald Rowe, the acting Secret Service director, at his Mar-a-Lago estate one day after an agent engaged an alleged would-be assassin along the perimeter of a golf course where the former president was playing.

Rowe told Trump some of his golf courses where he regularly plays can be difficult to secure because they are open spaces that are in some cases adjacent to public roads. The acting director relayed that the agency would need to add security for him to continue safely playing, an official said.

It was not clear if Trump intended to change how often he golfs in light of Sunday’s incident. The number of campaign events he holds each week is also expected to ramp up in the final stretch before Election Day.

The New York Times first reported on the conversation and recommendations from the Secret Service.

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was charged Monday with two gun crimes after allegedly pushing the muzzle of a rifle through the fence along the perimeter of Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course in Florida while the former president was there, prompting a Secret Service agent to fire at Routh.

The episode comes as the Secret Service is under intense scrutiny of its practices after the prior assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., and as various GOP voices called Monday for the agency to raise Trump’s level of security to that of President Biden.

Biden has a larger Secret Service detail because he is the sitting president. Trump said Monday evening he needs more people on his security detail, though he cited the large size of his rally crowds.

Trump is a frequent golfer, and the security around his courses has come into the spotlight in the wake of Sunday’s incident.

The former president golfed regularly on the weekends while he was in office, visiting his club in Sterling, Va. Since leaving office, he has been a regular presence at his golf courses in Bedminster, N.J., and West Palm Beach, Fla.

Trump has described golf as both a hobby and a form of exercise. He has hosted donors, lawmakers and professional athletes at his golf clubs. Critics have noted how often he played during his presidency, pointing out that Trump criticized former President Obama for golfing while in the White House.

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