On August 28, Trump revoked the Secret Service protection of former Vice President Kamala Harris.
While former vice presidents receive only six months of additional Secret Service protection after they leave office, former President Joe Biden extended Harris’ protection by a year. Trump canceled this extraordinary order labeled, “Memorandum for the Secretary of Homeland Security.”
Harris will also lose digital security, which includes “analysis of threat intelligence and covering in-person situations, emails, texts and social media.”
The timing of Trump’s move is revealing. It comes as Harris is conducting a book tour in major cities across the country. Not only is there a heightened threat environment, ironically demonstrated with the assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the assassination of Minnesota Representative Melissa Hortman, there were particular security concerns relating to Harris, being the first African-American woman to serve as Vice President.
Clearly, it is yet another act of political vengeance by Trump, especially as no formal explanation was given for why this action was necessary.
