The knives are out, quite literally, for former President Donald Trump, having already survived two assassination attempts and several plots to kill him have been uncovered. As a result, Representative Mike Waltz (R-FL) calls for military protection of the former President, discussing the severity of the threat in a recent appearance on Fox Business's Mornings with Maria.
Host Maria Bartiromo noted that President Biden has told his National Security Council to make clear that any Iran-backed attempt on Trump's life would be considered an act of war, and Fox News reported that the Trump campaign has requested air protection in case of missile strikes.
"The threats are very real, Maria," said Rep. Waltz, "and I want to be very clear on this: This is far worse than the typical 'Death to America' chants from the ayatollahs and their supporters or the 'Death to Trump' [chants] for killing their field general [Qassem] Soleimani. They have intelligence operatives [and] members with military assets that are trying to kill a former President, that are trying to assassinate our leading Republican nominee. That is an act of war."
The day before the first attempt on Trump's life in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13th, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national who was plotting to assassinate the former President on behalf of Iran.
Rep. Waltz ripped the three-month gap between the arrest and the Biden Administration's recent statement as "better late than never, but if they continue to just give some weak rhetoric rather than, as President Trump said, promising very real, devastating consequences, then you have essentially greenlighted Russia, North Korea, China, [and] global terrorism to start going after our elected officials and running for office should not be a death sentence from our adversaries."
Moreover, the Florida Congressman emphasized that military protection for Trump was justified as "they are willing to use military assets like [improvised explosive devices (IEDs), drones, or even surface-to-air missiles, then we need to give him military protective assets that only the military can provide. The Secret Service can only do so much."
