BOSTON (WHDH) - During his decades-long career, Branch Walton has provided security to former presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Jimmy Carter.
Following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, Walton shared his perspective.
“The biggest problem is that when you are protecting politicians, they have different attitudes about security,” Walton told 7NEWS. “Some are very cooperative with us. Some not so.”
Walton, who now works as a security consultant, said he was “shocked” when a gunman opened fire at Trump’s Saturday rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
At the same time, he said, the incident was “not unexpected.”
Walton said the shooting — which killed one person, seriously injured two others, and bloodied Trump — would not have happened without some sort of failure. But he stopped short of pinpointing exactly what went wrong.
“The protectors, the federal government, they have to be successful every time,” he said. “The terrorists have to be successful just once.”
“Secret service could be provided all the money they wanted, all the personnel, all the training, all the updated equipment and technology,” Walton said. “But there’s no guarantee that it won’t happen again.”
While questions linger about the Secret Service’s security preparations before this weekend’s shooting, Walton said the incident will change the political security landscape in the immediate and distant future.
“It’s going to increase our security efforts,” he said.
Trump traveled to Milwaukee Sunday night and is expected to appear this week at the Republican National Convention.
Already known for its tight security, security at this year’s RNC is under a microscope following the assassination attempt.
Back in Pennsylvania, investigators continued to search for clues Monday about gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks’ motive to shoot Trump.
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