The Trump campaign on Friday requested additional security measures including military aircraft to transport the Republican candidate, according to published reports.
The military aircraft that the former president’s team has in mind is equipped with deterrent systems capable of thwarting surface-to-air missiles. This comes as Trump will travels across the continental United States in the final stages of the presidential campaign. No nominee in recent history has requested such a mode of transportation, the Washington Post reported.
“I’ve told the department to give him every single thing he needs . . . as he were a sitting president,” President Biden said in response to Trump’s request. “As long as he doesn’t ask for F-15s,” he added.
Although the air-travel request dominated the headlines, the campaign also seeks further security guarantees on the ground. These include thermal-monitoring drones, increased amounts of ballistic glass to be erected around him at rallies, and additional local-law-enforcement funding to work in tandem with his primary security detail.
“The former president is receiving the highest levels of protection,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Friday. He added that additional safety steps already have been implemented, including the imposition of flight restrictions above Trump’s home and when he travels.
“Assistance from the Department of Defense is regularly provided for the former president’s protection, to include explosive ordnance disposal, canine units, and airlift transportation.”
A federal law-enforcement official told CNN that some of the campaign’s additional requests may face legal challenges regarding the military’s ability to be deployed domestically.
“[Trump] is receiving the highest level of technical security assets which include unmanned aerial vehicles, counter unmanned aerial surveillance systems, ballistics and other advanced technology systems,” Guglielmi said.
Trump has faced multiple threats, both foreign and domestic. In late September, his campaign released a statement saying he had been briefed “regarding real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the United States.”
Earlier this summer, Trump’s ear was struck by the bullet of an attempted assassin at a rally in Butler, Pa., and he faced another alleged would-be assassin outside his Florida golf course. As a result, the Secret Service has come under increasing pressure to ensure the safety and security of the former president as the election nears.