In a recent episode of his HBO show, Bill Maher engaged in a heated discussion with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, probing him about the security lapses that culminated in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania last week.
According to Mediaite, the FBI has disclosed that 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks managed to secure a clear line of sight on the former president. However, a week after the incident, which resulted in one fatality and left Trump and two others injured, the Secret Service has yet to explain how this was possible. The incident has sparked demands for President Joe Biden to dismiss Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who has remained silent about her agency's shortcomings and has yet to resign.
During the show, Maher questioned Buttigieg on a range of issues, including the attack on Trump. He challenged the Biden administration official on why Cheatle still held her position. "Should Joe Biden have fired the Secret Service head?" he queried. "I mean, I dont understand that.
Buttigieg expressed his condemnation of the shooting but admitted his lack of knowledge regarding the internal response to the incident. Im not in on all the details of the Homeland Security side, he confessed. I know theres a really serious after-action report and process and a whole lot of scrutiny going on there.
He further added, I think, you know, everything that led up to that moment, that horrible moment is under a microscope. And I believe that President Biden and the administration will do the right thing.
Maher, however, was not easily placated. He argued that the situation looked far from ideal, given the circumstances. Well, you didnt need a microscope to see it, the host retorted. The guy was on the roof, you know, like not that far away.
Ive seen people fired for less, and it just looks bad, he continued. It looks like, Well, the other guy from the other party got shot. Well, well look into it if we have time.'"
Buttigieg remained steadfast in his belief that the appropriate decision would be made concerning the necessary measures to ensure the competence of Secret Service agents. He stated, "I think its that when something of this gravity happens, so you dont just dash off a decision, you do a comprehensive process to find every single piece of anything that could go wrong. And then theres going to be accountability and theres going to be change. Im sure of that. Again, Im not in the middle of that. Obviously thats not my lane, but I know thats whats going to happen."
The incident has left many questions unanswered, and the public awaits the results of the ongoing investigation and the subsequent actions of the Biden administration.
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