Trump requests military plane, increased protection amid security threats

Donald Trump’s campaign is asking the government to provide increased security for the candidate, who faces unprecedented threats as a former president seeking to once again lead a bitterly divided nation.

The campaign is requesting the use of military aircraft for the candidate as well as additional Secret Service protection for Trump following two apparent assassination attempts and the revelation that Iran has targeted him for retribution for the U.S. killing of Qassem Soleimani in January 2020.

In a sign of the severity of the threat, the White House quickly agreed, with President Joe Biden saying Friday that he had authorized the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, to address their requests.

“I’ve told the department to give him every single thing he needs,” Biden said.

Trump presents a unique security risk as a former president, and his campaign has already had to make adjustments to address the threats he faces on the road.

Last week, Trump’s campaign was forced to move an event to a smaller venue in Milwaukee because the original location could not be sufficiently secured. In response to threats, his campaign had to redirect his motorcade and Trump has not always traveled in his personal plane, according to a person briefed on the intelligence.

Now, the former president is asking for military assets to protect him. Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fl.), made the request in a letter to the Secret Service, the White House and the Department of Defense, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter and granted anonymity.

In addition, Susie Wiles, Trump’s co-campaign manager, has been in contact with the White House chief of staff, Jeff Zients, and acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe Jr., about beefing up security for Trump and his campaign.

Wiles recently spoke by phone with Zients to request military assets due to her belief that the Secret Service needed additional assistance, according to two people familiar with the conversation. Zients responded by saying Trump would get whatever he needs, the people said.

Zients immediately connected Wiles to Department of Homeland Security and Secret Service leadership so she had a direct line of communication, and the chief of staff made clear that Biden directed the Secret Service to provide the highest level of protection for Trump, according to the officials.

The requests follow intelligence briefings given to the campaign about threats posed by Iran.

Security measures the campaign is asking for include increased funding for local law enforcement, access to federal manpower, sufficient funding for the Secret Service to reimburse local law enforcement, temporary airspace restrictions and access to the kind of high security limousines that are used by the president.

Trump’s request for additional protection also reflects the increasing pressure that security concerns surrounding the former president are putting on his campaign.

The campaign did not respond to a request for on-the-record comment.

Trump now requires bulletproof glass to encase him while he speaks at rallies, and the heavy, expensive structures, built to withstand the strength of high-speed ballistics, have not always been readily available to him, according to people familiar with the matter and granted anonymity to discuss security.

The last minute venue changes have also come at the cost of the campaign. When the campaign plane has been diverted, a new motorcade has to be organized and security plans have to be rearranged. And the advance planning required to keep Trump and his team safe has meant that the campaign is not as nimble as they would like to be at this stage in the race, when campaigns often make changes to the schedule based on real time data and polling. Outside of the campaign, security concerns have prompted Trump to cut back on golf, his favorite weekend activity.

“President Biden has directed the Secret Service to provide the highest level of protection for former President Trump,” said White House communications director Ben LaBolt.

The Secret Service increased security for Trump after the attempt on his life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July by a young gunman whose motives are not publicly known as well as the threats from Iran. But while Trump has a high level of security detail, he does not have a military plane or the same level of protection afforded to a sitting president or the vice president.

National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement that the U.S. has been tracking Iranian threats to Trump for years, dating back to when he was president following the killing of Solemaini, a general who directed the country’s regional military activities.

“These threats arise from Iran’s desire to seek revenge for the killing of Qassem Solemaini. We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority, and we strongly condemn Iran for these brazen threats,” Savett said. “Should Iran attack any of our citizens, including those who continue to serve the United States or those who formerly served, Iran will face severe consequences.”

According to a senior administration official, Biden has sent messages “to the highest levels” of the Iranian government warning them to cease plots against Trump and former U.S. officials. Former officials targeted by Iran have included former national security adviser John Bolton, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and Trump administration Iran envoy Brian Hook. Pompeo and Hook currently have government protection because of the threats. It has been expressed to Iran that any attempts on Trump’s life would be considered an act of war.

The letter from Waltz and contact between Wiles and Rowe and Zients were first reported by The New York Times.

In addition to Secret Service, the campaign in the past has employed Colorado Security Agency to assist with security at events, although the campaign has not made a payment to that outfit since January, according to campaign finance records. The campaign however has paid more than $591,000 to the firm Event Strategies Inc., whose description includes “security.”

Security was significantly beefed up for Trump’s recent return to the Butler, Pennsylvania, farm show grounds where he was shot in July. Roads were blocked off in advance. Bomb-sniffing dogs walked through the rows of cars parked on site. Additional snipers were stationed on the roofs that ringed the fairgrounds. And the now-infamous building atop which the shooter clambered to fire off rounds at the former president was blocked from view by tall, white box trucks.

“If I were the president, I would inform the threatening country — in this case Iran — that if you do anything to harm this person, we are going to blow your largest cities and the country itself to smithereens. We’re going to blow it to smithereens. You can’t do that. And there would be no more threats,” Trump said at a campaign event in North Carolina. “But right now we don’t have that leadership or the necessary people, the necessary leaders.”

John Sakellaridis, Jessica Piper and Lisa Kashinsky contributed to this report