“Too small”, “too weak”: after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump during a rally, the American ultraconservative right is attacking the women of the Secret Service responsible for protecting the former president.
The Secret Service, which is supposed to protect senior American political figures, finds itself not only in the crosshairs of critics who wonder how a shooter could have ended up so close to the former president, but also of sexist comments that call into question its “DEI” (Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity) recruitment policy.
Several women, dressed in suits and wearing the dark glasses typical of Secret Service agents, rushed to protect and evacuate the Republican candidate, who was targeted by gunfire on Saturday during an outdoor rally in Pennsylvania.
“There should be no women in the Secret Service. These agents are supposed to be the best and none of the best (in the profession) are women,” wrote ultraconservative commentator Matt Walsh on X.
“I can’t imagine a DEI recruit from @pepsi wouldn’t be a good choice to lead the Secret Service #sarcasm,” added Republican House Representative Tim Burchett on the same network.
He was referring to Kimberly Cheatle — the second woman to head the federal agency — who oversaw security at PepsiCo for a few years before returning to the Secret Service, where she had already worked for nearly 30 years.
“Wokism”
The Secret Service, which opened its contingent of agents to women in 1971, is aiming for 30% by 2030, CBS News reported last year.
“I’m very concerned… about making sure we attract diverse candidates and that we develop and provide opportunities to all of our employees, especially women,” Cheatle said at the time.
The ultra-conservative right did not hesitate to use this extract to denounce “wokeism” in recruitment.
“DEI (policy) results: DEI killed someone,” reads a post from the Libs of TikTok account that has been viewed over 10 million times on X.
Asked by AFP, the Secret Service did not immediately respond.
Human resources have tried to accelerate the diversification of their recruiting practices in the United States after the murder in 2020 of African-American George Floyd, which sparked a major anti-racism movement.
But conservatives have stepped up their counterattack in recent months, saying the practices “disadvantage” white men.
JD Vance, the Ohio senator chosen as Donald Trump’s running mate, is leading the charge with a bill introduced in June to eliminate the federal government’s DEI programs.
“DEI is racism, pure and simple. It’s time to ban it nationally, starting with the federal government,” he wrote on X at the time.
Male Agents in Milwaukee
Secret Service recruiting had already come under fire in May, after Congress launched an investigation into an incident involving a security agent for Vice President Kamala Harris.
In a letter to Kentucky Republican Rep. Kimberly Cheatle, Comer expressed concern about the agent’s hiring and background checks, saying that understaffing “led the agency to lower its strict standards for DEI efforts.”
In response, agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the American press that employees were recruited according to “the highest professional standards (…) and that in no case had the agency lowered them.”
The Secret Service director has ignored calls for her resignation and the agency has said it will participate “fully” in the independent investigation requested by President Joe Biden. Kimberly Cheatle is expected to testify before Congress on July 22, according to James Comer.
Joe Biden said he felt “safe” with Secret Service agents, but acknowledged that the question remained “open” as to whether the agents anticipated the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
In his first public appearance at the Republican convention in Milwaukee on Monday, Donald Trump appeared surrounded by male agents. “THIS is how you protect a president,” conservative commentator Rogan O’Handley wrote on X.