Trump’s human sheilds

[Totoe]

I was a little bit shocked to see them gathering round him putting themselves in the line of fire like that. Would that happen in this country? Never seen anything like it before and not sure how I feel about it.

It's the mission of the USSS. They are willing and expected to take a bullet for their assigned protected person. It's the core of the job.

That is exactly the job of body guards. The clue is in the name!

Yes I do get that. Do we have the equivalent here? Would our bodyguards act the same? I suppose I’m surprised they didn't have bullet proof vests on like the police/army do.

Yes, it would be the same here, it's literally their job to potentially take a bullet to protect the person they are guarding.

You've probably not seen it before because it's been a long time since there was an assassination attempt

But yes, the Secret Service are there to keep the VIP alive, and that can mean putting themselves between the VIP and the likely source of harm (which in practice usually means surrounding them, as there might be more than one shooter). This is not just to block bullets it's also so the shooter can no longer see the VIP clearly.

It's not limited to the US btw nor is it a recent tactic. Princess Anne's bodyguard was shot during the kidnap attempt because he had moved between the princess and the (thwarted) kidnapper.

I expect the risks you are expected to run are made abundantly clear during selection and training.

Might they be wearing bullet proof vests?

Yes, the same would happen here, as has been said, that is their job. But fortunately it has not been tested and of course, very fortunately, we live in a country where it is incredibly difficult to get hold of guns as opposed to a country full of them.

Must suck to know you might have to give up your life for a vile human being like Trump though, so more credit to them!

You can feel how you want about it, but it is completely standard and they are required to do it. They know and understand this.

I should think the people on his detail probably support him politically.

Yes of course it’s the same here. The pms protection are supposed to do the same thing. Not run and hide

They're fucking protection officers. Its literally their JOB to do so.

Yes it would be the same here.

Bodyguards would be a bit pointless if they didn’t do that!

Well, there is the policeman outside Number 10, who has a whistle. Then there's Larry the Cat, who is, apparently, vicious when riled up (see early close-up press photos of Carrie's snagged tights).

Of course it's the same here - and everywhere else in the world!

Wealthy private people pay a fortune in personal protection. Politicians and Royalty have PP provided by ther State.

All are expected to but themselves between harm and their client.

Well I guess I’m just lucky that I’ve never seen or thought about it before.

I do understand what you mean - it is literally in the name. I suppose I assumed a bodyguard’s job was to identify and tackle any potential attackers, not literally run to take bullets. But then a sniper isn't a scenario I have ever really contemplated either.

Yes, close protection exists here too. More obvious when accompanying politicians etc to war zones. They are expected to physically protect the target with their own body.

I would assume they have less obvious vests under their jackets, but I don’t know that for certain.

You've surely heard of the sniper who assassinated JFK????

I know they exist obviously but I never really thought about it in relation to a bodyguard’s job.
Probably because we don’t have that many guns here.

They’re bodyguards, what did you think their job might entail? They will also be wearing bulletproof vests under their clothing.

Very scary stuff, I’m not a Trump fan in the slightest but if that bullet had hit him a couple of centimetres either side, it would’ve probably killed him.

Their job is to take a bullet if necessary. It doesn't matter if they agree with the person politically or like them, they can't do the job of they aren't prepared to be human shields.

This is why it is really important the people they are protecting do as they are told. Trump ducked immediately because that is what he has been told to do. The Senior royals don't shut their own car doors because the protection officer won't shut it until they make an assessment that it is the safe and they won't need to use the car for refuge.

If principals don't do what the protection officer says they risk all their lives.

It's how they protect their target, though I was just thinking what a terrible job they did, didn't cover him well at all. Someone could've quite easily got in a few more shots while he was doing his little victory first pumps, shoddy bodyguarding!

The people on his detail are secret service agents and their political affinity has no reckoning whatsoever on their assignments

The shooter was killed immediately by return fire. They did cover him, and fast, if you watch the videos it’s seconds of time. They are humans not robots.

This doesn’t make sense. What a weird post. 😂 Not knowing what a bodyguard’s job is.