About a week into his second term, Donald Trump’s revenge tour took an unsettling turn when the president started pulling security details from a variety of former officials, including former White House national security adviser John Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former special envoy to Iran Brian Hook and Dr. Anthony Fauci — apparently out of spite.
Asked by a reporter if he’d feel partially responsible if something awful were to happen to any of these former officials, Trump said he would not, adding, “Certainly, I would not take responsibility.”
Soon after, Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Tom Cotton of Arkansas publicly urged the president to rethink his approach.
He did not rethink his approach.
Last month, as his revenge tour continued, Trump also pulled the security detail for his former Defense secretary, Mark Esper. This week, as NBC News reported, the list grew:
President Donald Trump said Monday that he is terminating Secret Service protection for his predecessor’s two adult children: Hunter and Ashley Biden. ‘Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. He added that Ashley Biden also ‘will be taken off the list.’
Oddly enough, these developments unfolded with remarkable speed. Roughly three hours before the Republican announced his decision by way of his social media platform, someone asked the president at a press Q&A, “There were 18 Secret Service agents protecting Hunter Biden in South Africa this weekend. Who’s paying for that, and do you plan to revoke his Secret Service protections?”
Trump, who apparently hadn’t heard anything about this, thanked the person for bringing this to his attention and vowed to look into the matter “this afternoon.” REPORTER: There were 18 Secret Service agents protecting Hunter Biden in South African this wknd. Who's paying for that and do you plan to revoke his Secret Service protections?TRUMP: That will be something I'll look at this afternoon. I just heard about it for the first time. Thank you very much. Evidently, he meant it. For the record, there is no modern precedent for an American president effectively wielding security details as a political tool, stripping protection from those he deems unworthy. It’s one of the many ways Trump is breaking new ground.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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