Secret Service shortage forces Trump to ditch outdoor Wisconsin rally: report

A lack of Secret Service personnel forced former President Donald Trump’s campaign to move an outdoor rally in Wisconsin to a smaller indoor arena in the battleground state this weekend.

The rally was to take place outside an airport on Saturday. Its relocation came as the Secret Service faced shortages while providing security for foreign dignitaries in the U.S. for the United Nations General Assembly’s annual meeting, CBS News reported. It will instead be held at an arena in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, according to the Trump campaign.

A senior Secret Service official who remained anonymous because they were not authorized to speak to the media told CBS News that the agency was “never configured to provide such an elevated level of protection for an increasing number of protected.”

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“Our personnel and equipment are being pushed to their limits to sustain the current operational tempo,” the official told the station. “This proposed Wisconsin event also took place during the United Nations General Assembly, where the Secret Service is responsible for the safety and security of over 140 world leaders amid a challenged global threat level.”

Along with providing security for foreign leaders, the Secret Service is responsible for protecting the president, vice president and their families, as well as former presidents, presidential and vice presidential candidates, and other high-level federal officials. The agency has faced increased scrutiny since Trump suffered an ear wound following an assassination attempt in July. A second assassination plot was thwarted against Trump at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, adding to calls to revamp it.

The conservative outlet The Federalist echoed claims by Trump supporters Wednesday blaming the rally’s cancellation on President Joe Biden for “denying protection assets” for Trump.