US President Joe Biden has said Donald Trump's requests for extra security, including military transport, should be granted in light of two assassination attempts against the Republican nominee.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Biden said Trump should be given everything needed, “as long as he doesn’t ask for F-15s.”
Trump's campaign has recently been in contact with the White House and the Secret Service, seeking military assets for added protection, according to multiple US media reports.
“Look, I’ve instructed the department to give him every – every single thing he needs for his... as if he were a sitting president. Give him all that he needs. If it fits within that category, that’s fine. But if it doesn’t, he shouldn’t,” the US president explained.
The request for military assets includes aircraft and vehicles to transport Trump between campaign events and expanded flight restrictions over his homes and rallies. Reports in the New York Times, Washington Post, and CNN did not mention whether the Republican campaign had sought fighter jet escorts.
Trump's presidential rival, Kamala Harris, receives protection from the US Marines as Vice President and travels on a US military aircraft designated as Air Force Two.
The Secret Service, responsible for protecting presidential candidates, has confirmed that it received requests for increased protection but did not disclose details.
“The former president is receiving the highest levels of protection,” said a representative for the agency, noting that the Secret Service would continue to adjust its protective posture to address evolving threats.
The agency faced criticism after the first assassination attempt against Trump in July, which resulted in the resignation of its director. Since then, it has increased its defensive measures for Trump, including the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, counter-drone technology, and other protective and surveillance systems.
Last month, Trump claimed there were “big threats” to his life from Iran after he and his team met with representatives from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The agency declined to disclose details of the meeting, but the Trump campaign said it focused on “real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the US.”
Trump narrowly escaped death on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a 20-year-old man fired shots from a rooftop, grazing Trump’s ear and killing one audience member. The would-be assassin, Thomas M. Crooks, was killed by the US Secret Service, and his body was quickly cremated. His social media accounts have since been scrubbed.
Another would-be assassin, 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, was arrested by the Secret Service on September 15 after being spotted near a Trump-owned golf course in Florida, apparently attempting to take a shot. Routh, a convicted felon, spent much of the past three years in Ukraine, claiming to various Western media outlets that he was fundraising and recruiting for Kiev’s war effort.
The FBI is investigating both incidents as attempted assassinations, but authorities have yet to provide any information about possible motives, and have not revealed any evidence linking to an Iranian plot.