Trump campaign requests military aircraft, armoured vehicles for protection from Iran threats

NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s aides have requested a slew of stepped-up security measures, including military aircraft capable of shooting down surface-to-air missiles to transport the former president in the race’s final stretch, amid growing concerns over threats from Iran in a campaign already shaken by violence.

The campaign’s highly unusual request comes as the Republican candidate faces death threats from Iran, which has also targeted other former Trump administration officials and has also been blamed for a widespread hack of top campaign officials. Trump narrowly survived one assassination attempt and U.S. Secret Service agents foiled a second, though neither case has been publicly linked to Iranian actors.

Beyond a military plane, the campaign has asked for special armored vehicles typically reserved for sitting presidents, expanded temporary flight restrictions over his rallies and his residences, reimbursements for decoy aircraft, and more money for the U.S. Secret Service and local law enforcement agencies that assist in Trump’s protection.

Both Trump and his staff have complained that he is being restricted from campaigning the way he wants to because the agency lacks the resources to keep him safe.

The Secret Service insisted Friday that Trump is already “receiving the highest levels of protection.” And President Joe Biden told reporters that he would be happy to approve Trump’s request to use military aircraft in the final stages of the campaign, as long as “he doesn’t ask for F-15s.”

“Look, what I’ve told the department is to give him every single thing he needs for his — as if he were a sitting president,” he said. “Give him all that he needs. If it fits within that category, that’s fine. But it doesn’t, he shouldn’t.”

The new security requests were first reported by the New York Times.

The campaign and Secret Service have gone back and forth

The Trump campaign’s requests were outlined in a letter to acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe Jr. from senior Trump campaign adviser Susie Wiles and obtained by The Associated Press.

She asked the Secret Service to pre-position the ballistic glass that Trump now uses for protection at his outdoor rallies in the seven battleground states where he is expected to spend the majority of time in the race’s final stretch.

Currently, it takes more than a week’s notice to position the barriers in the right place, according to a person familiar with the requests who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters. Trump aides see that advance notice as unrealistic given the frenetic nature of the final days of a campaign, when schedules are adjusted based on incoming polls and campaign strategy, the person said.

In a statement, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said that since the attempted assassination on July 13 at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the agency “has made comprehensive enhancements to its communications capabilities, resourcing and protective operations” and that Trump “is receiving the highest levels of protection.”

He said the Department of Defense regularly provides assistance for Trump’s protection, including canine units, and that the Secret Service has been restricting air traffic over the former president’s residence and when he travels.

“Additionally, the former President 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,” he said.

Former American presidents are able to use military airlift only if requested by the current president. In April, for instance, former President Bill Clinton used one as he led a U.S. delegation to Rwanda. On Sept. 11, 2021, Biden, Clinton, and former President Barack Obama flew to a remembrance in New York.

Trump has accused Biden of denying him resources

The Trump campaign for weeks now has accused the U.S. Secret Service of forcing it to cancel or scale back events due to a lack of resources.

That includes a speech in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, held the same week as the U.N. General Assembly in New York, that was scaled back because the Secret Service couldn’t secure a larger rally.

Trump has accused Biden of intentionally denying security resources to help Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, by preventing him from addressing large crowds.

“They couldn’t give me any help. And I’m so angry about it because what they’re doing is interfering in the election,” he said in a recent Fox News interview.

Trump, however, has repeatedly praised his own security detail, commending them for their bravery.

While the Secret Service says Trump already has presidential-level protection, there are differences. Both Biden and Harris, for instance, have military assets, including planes.

Beyond her Sept. 30 letter, Wiles has also spoken with White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and others about her concerns about Trump’s security and how his ability to campaign has been curtailed by threats.

Zients, according to a person who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose details of their conversation, connected Wiles to Homeland Security Department and Secret Service leadership after she reached out and made clear that Biden had directed the Secret Service to provide the highest level of protection for Trump.

In a separate letter, Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, who is close to Trump, urged the Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, White House and Department of Defense to deploy additional military assets to protect Trump in the face of Iranian threats. He requested that Trump be provided with a military passenger aircraft like those used by cabinet secretaries.

Trump aides call for action against Iran

Trump has been targeted by Iran, which is believed to want retaliation for his administration’s killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

In August, a Pakistani man alleged to have links to Iran was charged in a plot to carry out political assassinations on U.S. soil. Law enforcement did not name the targets of the alleged plot, but legal filings suggest Trump was a potential target.

Iranian hackers have also been charged with stealing information from Trump’s campaign and trying to pass it along to news organizations. In May, prosecutors say, the men charged began trying to penetrate the Trump campaign, successfully breaking into the email accounts of campaign officials and other Trump allies. They then sought to “weaponize” the stolen campaign material by sending unsolicited emails to people associated with Biden’s campaign. None of the recipients who worked for Biden responded.

Trump’s campaign has complained that the Biden White House has downplayed the death threats.

“This administration spends more time focused on a hack of emails than they do the Iranians who are trying to kill Donald Trump,” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita told reporters in Pennsylvania last weekend. He noted that former President Clinton deployed cruise missiles in retaliation for an Iraqi plot to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush.

“You know he did? He sent a bunch of cruise missiles to send a message,” LaCivita complained. “All they do is put out a press release.”

In a statement, National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said the Biden administration has been “closely tracking Iranian threats against former President Trump and former Trump administration officials for years, dating back to the last administration.”

“We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority, and we strongly condemn Iran for these brazen threats,” Savett added, warning that: “Should Iran attack any of our citizens, including those who continue to serve the United States or those who formerly served, Iran will face severe consequences.”

___ Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani, Zeke Miller, Rebecca Santana, Lolita C. Baldor and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.

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