1 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:22,679 And we're back with another edition of the Federalist Radio Hour. I'm Matt Kittle, 2 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:28,280 Senior Elections correspondent at the Federalist and your experienced Shirpa on today's quest for 3 00:00:28,359 --> 00:00:32,200 Knowledge. As always, you can email the show at radio at the Federalist 4 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:38,600 dot com, follow us on x at FDR LST, make sure to subscribe 5 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:42,719 wherever you download your podcast, and of course to the premium version of our 6 00:00:42,719 --> 00:00:48,039 website as well. I'm joined today and honored to be joined today by Ken 7 00:00:48,119 --> 00:00:55,920 Valentine, a former US Secret Service special agent involved in protecting three sitting US 8 00:00:55,960 --> 00:01:03,280 presidents. His new book, Cheating Death Time Presidential Secret Service Agent Lives to 9 00:01:03,399 --> 00:01:08,599 tell you how an amazing book and I can't think of a more timely conversation 10 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:15,519 to have right now. It definitely this book offers a unique view into a 11 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,519 by design secret world. Ken, thank you so much for joining us on 12 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:23,439 the Federalist Radio Hour. Matt, I'm going to say it's a pleasure to 13 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:27,120 be with you, although it's a tough time to use the word pleasure. 14 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:34,280 Certainly had no idea when the book was published in April that we would come 15 00:01:34,359 --> 00:01:40,439 so close to not Cheating Death in the Secret Service, and so it's timely 16 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:45,120 and appropriate to be with you. Thank you. Scary times these and all 17 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:57,120 the more scarier by what we saw obviously on Saturday in Pennsylvania and just covering 18 00:01:57,159 --> 00:02:02,079 the Republican National Committee convention. Keep hearing the word miracle over and over again. 19 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:08,639 I don't think it's hyperbole. I think that the miraculous series events kept 20 00:02:08,719 --> 00:02:16,680 the former president and the GOP's presidential nomination from serious harm's way or an assassination, 21 00:02:16,879 --> 00:02:24,080 which is indeed, what was the goal here by a killer Let's delve 22 00:02:24,159 --> 00:02:29,759 right into that and we'll get into your book. It would seem to me 23 00:02:30,199 --> 00:02:34,080 and a lot of people are asking the same questions that this was an abject 24 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:39,159 failure by the US Secret Service. As a former agent, what say you, 25 00:02:40,479 --> 00:02:45,960 Well, first of all, I agree with your perspective that you know, 26 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,479 as a born again believer in Jesus Christ and God Almighty, I believe 27 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:53,840 that his hand was upon that situation and that God saved President Trump, and 28 00:02:53,879 --> 00:02:59,800 I am thankful to him for that. With respect to failure, it's hard 29 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:05,639 to use the word failure when the person you've been given the mission and the 30 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:10,800 privilege and the responsibility to protect is risked off the stage bleeding from a gunshot 31 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:19,000 wound. So failure is in the air there, because prevention is plan A, 32 00:03:19,479 --> 00:03:23,560 and that's the mission and the goal of the Secret Service is to prevent, 33 00:03:23,719 --> 00:03:28,639 to thwart, to make sure that these things don't happen. And you 34 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:32,599 know, Plan B is reaction, but action is always faster than reaction. 35 00:03:32,879 --> 00:03:38,240 And so what you saw in the reaction was really outstanding. In my opinion, 36 00:03:38,319 --> 00:03:44,120 that is what I did. I was a protection agent with three different 37 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:49,719 presidents and others in a twenty four year career, and that is what you 38 00:03:49,759 --> 00:03:53,479 saw was exactly how we trained. And you know, I think the word 39 00:03:53,520 --> 00:04:01,080 heroic is appropriate to describe the reaction from the shift working former President Trump to 40 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:05,360 to jump up while bullets are still in the air, and to to cover 41 00:04:05,639 --> 00:04:11,000 and then evacuate. And that is that they did it textbook according to training. 42 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:16,000 But this should have been prevented, and there's there's no question that that 43 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,800 that there is some mud there with respect to what failures happened. I think 44 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:26,800 the investigation is definitely I don't think this is going to be a hard investigation 45 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:31,639 to figure out what was the what was the agreed upon planning and then where 46 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:39,000 did that plan either not measure up or or was not followed. My boss, 47 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:43,920 Sean Davis doesn't hold back. He rarely does. In a piece this 48 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:49,160 week that he wrote the Federalist criticizing the Secret Service. But more but more 49 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:58,480 than that, what he sees as a starving of resources from the Biden administration 50 00:04:59,199 --> 00:05:03,360 to approp fund the Secret Service to begin with. So it's not only a 51 00:05:03,399 --> 00:05:09,879 matter of what happened that day, but what has happened, according to Sean 52 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:16,480 in recent months, as it involves a former president and for a long time, 53 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:24,920 the presumed GOP presidential candidate to take on Joe Biden in November's election. 54 00:05:25,079 --> 00:05:28,040 This is what he writes. I want to get your take on that they 55 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:32,560 kept the rooftop open, watched the shooter, kept Trump on the stage, 56 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:39,000 and didn't do a damn thing until after he had been shot. We're supposed 57 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:45,439 to believe it was an innocent oopsie. He's not alone in some of these 58 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:51,120 concerns. What do you think about that? I think those are all very 59 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:58,879 fair questions at this point. And what I'm looking for, and I'll say 60 00:05:58,879 --> 00:06:03,360 sarcastically awaiting a response to and I put this out on LinkedIn is that you 61 00:06:03,439 --> 00:06:09,879 know, I'm looking for the internal memo where the DHS Secretary says to the 62 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:15,040 Secret Service director, you have our full support with all the resources that you 63 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:18,879 need to do the mission, the singular mission of protecting the people that you're 64 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:24,160 assigned to protect, including the former president, and don't worry about the budget, 65 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:27,720 focus on the mission, make it your priority, and get it done. 66 00:06:27,959 --> 00:06:31,720 And I suspect that that memo does not exist. I suspect that that 67 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:39,000 there were calls for resources that were not provided. And if that's that's the 68 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:43,720 case, then then that is certainly one of the biggest failures that's gonna that's 69 00:06:43,759 --> 00:06:48,160 going to come out of this. With respect to the rooftop, that's a 70 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:51,839 that's a harder call. It's a It is certainly a question, and it's 71 00:06:51,879 --> 00:06:56,240 an easy thing to look at and say, why wasn't the rooftop protected? 72 00:06:56,279 --> 00:07:00,680 But I don't, uh, my preference be to not have someone on that 73 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:05,519 rooftop, that there would be prevention to keep anyone from getting near the building, 74 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:10,800 that you wouldn't have an opportunity to get on the rooftop, because an 75 00:07:10,839 --> 00:07:15,800 officer on the rooftop is very vulnerable. And I want that officer down on 76 00:07:15,839 --> 00:07:21,000 the ground with partners to make sure that nobody comes close to that rooftop. 77 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:28,800 And I'll tell you there's technology that could have alerted law enforcement and the Secret 78 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:34,879 Service to the presence of explosives in his vehicle and a loaded AR fifteen magazine 79 00:07:35,639 --> 00:07:41,079 way before he ever got out of his car or approached that building. And 80 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:45,120 so molecular residence would have done that, and we're going to have to incorporate 81 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:50,279 that into the mix. Relying on humans to do security has been the way 82 00:07:50,279 --> 00:07:54,959 it's always been done, but there are just so many better ways to do 83 00:07:55,040 --> 00:08:00,800 it now, and molecular residents would have helped. You've worked to protect secure 84 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:09,199 three presidents. Who were those presidents? And with that, had you known 85 00:08:09,519 --> 00:08:13,439 or worked with Miss Cheatle at the Secret Service? Yes, Sir, I 86 00:08:13,959 --> 00:08:18,800 was with President Bill Clinton his last year in office, and then I was 87 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:22,560 there. It was a five year assignment, so I was there when President 88 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:26,120 George W. Bush came in and I remained with him for four years. 89 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:31,800 In fact, my last day there was his inauguration, his second inauguration, 90 00:08:31,959 --> 00:08:35,919 and that's the cover of the book, ironically, and then I went back 91 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:41,320 as a supervisor during the well right as President Obama came into office, and 92 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:48,360 Kim Cheatle, who I count among my friends, was in my chain of 93 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:54,200 command. She was my boss when I came back to d C the last 94 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:58,039 time as the speculation in charge of the Dignitary Protective Division, and she was 95 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:03,720 the assistant director at that point over protective operations. What do you say of 96 00:09:03,759 --> 00:09:11,799 her assertions that she did not want an agent or agents up on the rooftop 97 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:16,399 it was sloped and I didn't have to worry about it, basically because you 98 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:22,799 know, the argument was that someone could get hurt up on that sloped rooftop. 99 00:09:22,879 --> 00:09:28,519 There's been a lot of pushback against that statement. Yeah, I think 100 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:33,720 you can look at where our snipers were, and the fact that our snipers 101 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:39,519 were able to make a perfect shot on a roof that was more slanted tells 102 00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:45,000 me that a less slanted roof would make a fine spot for a shooter. 103 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:48,360 I don't understand that statement. I'm not sure where that came from, and 104 00:09:48,399 --> 00:09:52,559 I'm sorry she said that because she's going to have to own that going forward, 105 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:56,600 just like many other things. But yeah, a slanted rooftop might be 106 00:09:56,639 --> 00:10:00,679 the perfect place for a shooter. So I don't see how that has anything 107 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:09,120 to do with it. 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Head to factormeals dot com slash Federalist fifty and 124 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:28,399 use code Federalist fifty to get fifty percent off your first box plus twenty percent 125 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:33,399 off your next month. That's code Federalists fifty At factor meals dot com slash 126 00:11:33,399 --> 00:11:37,720 Federalists fifty to get fifty percent off your first box plus twenty percent off your 127 00:11:37,759 --> 00:11:46,240 next month while your subscription is active. I hope this is not misunderstood. 128 00:11:46,279 --> 00:11:50,679 I don't want anybody to have to face what President Trump faced in Pennsylvania. 129 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:54,720 Clearly, I don't care if I disagree with them politically. It is a 130 00:11:54,759 --> 00:12:00,840 sad state of affairs that that's where we're at in America. That said, 131 00:12:01,639 --> 00:12:07,759 there's been a lot of conversation in the last forty eight hours or so about 132 00:12:09,159 --> 00:12:20,360 the diversion perhaps of protective services to get over to an event relatively close featuring 133 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:26,440 the First Lady Jill Biden, and that those resources apparently were some of the 134 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:33,879 resources that were supposed to be deployed at former President Trump's rally were moved there. 135 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:39,039 Can you speak to that your experience on multiple events and what that does 136 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:46,440 for the Secret Service in terms of its resources. Sure, in my experience, 137 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:52,000 that wouldn't have happened. Certainly we see changes in protect ese schedules that 138 00:12:52,799 --> 00:13:00,120 necessitate the moving of assets, but you don't remove assets from one protectee to 139 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:05,559 make up for another. And you know, you once you create an advanced 140 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:09,519 security plan, you really have to stick to that plan. And if you 141 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:15,360 determined ahead of time, in your best estimation, that we need, for 142 00:13:15,399 --> 00:13:20,440 example, fifty agents to affect the security plan that everyone agreed upon, well 143 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:26,279 you don't remove some of them and somehow come up at the last minute and 144 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:31,159 say, actually we only need forty and we're going to divert ten over here 145 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:37,279 to this. That just didn't happen during my tenure. So I'm going to 146 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:43,200 be disappointed if that took place, and that would be that would be outside 147 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:48,279 of the experience that I enjoyed in the Secret Service. It's a tough question, 148 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:50,840 but it's a tough time and a lot of our readers and our listeners 149 00:13:50,879 --> 00:13:56,320 are asking this question or at least concern raising the point also covering the Milwaukee 150 00:13:56,440 --> 00:14:03,080 Republican National the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, and the question comes up quite 151 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:09,960 a bit. Obviously, secret Service around the perimeter in Milwaukee, you wouldn't 152 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:16,679 you wouldn't find this level of security, this level of law enforcement, in 153 00:14:16,919 --> 00:14:28,759 the resources it appears employed here anywhere save you battle scene in World War Two. 154 00:14:30,759 --> 00:14:35,080 It really is impressive. It really is thorough in terms of the background 155 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:43,039 checks, and obviously everything is on heightened alert at this point. But the 156 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:52,360 question comes up from what happened in Pennsylvania with all that occurred and what appears 157 00:14:52,399 --> 00:15:01,120 to be lapses for some time and a lack of resources. Arguably, is 158 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:13,159 this more than just negligence? Is this willful negligence? I think what you're 159 00:15:13,159 --> 00:15:20,240 seeing in Milwaukee is the result of almost if not a full year of planning 160 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:26,120 and coordination by the Secret Service as a result of the designation for that event, 161 00:15:26,159 --> 00:15:31,320 which it always is as a national special security event. And so the 162 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:37,639 planning and the resources, the budget for that is immense, and the coordination 163 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:43,120 is immense, and the Secret Service obviously in charge of security for that, 164 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:50,240 the FBI in charge of the intelligence for that event, and so any thing 165 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:58,399 not designated as a national special security event is going to receive fewer resources and 166 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:03,240 a shorter amount of time to plan and prepare. I think for the event 167 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:11,759 in Butler, Pennsylvania, my suspicion is that they had probably one week at 168 00:16:11,759 --> 00:16:15,840 the most to plan and prepare for that, And honestly, that's plenty of 169 00:16:15,879 --> 00:16:21,320 time to do what was necessary in order to make that secure. And I 170 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:26,200 think the investigation is going to show us what the agreements were and whether or 171 00:16:26,279 --> 00:16:30,960 not the agreements were upheld, you know, if the protocols were followed. 172 00:16:32,159 --> 00:16:37,919 I really believe Secret Service methodology is super solid. The question in my mind 173 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:42,320 was the methodology followed. And so I love to tell the story and I've 174 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:47,320 been telling it for years that one of my favorite things about the Secret Service 175 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:51,879 was going out doing those advances, because it's really where you earn your money 176 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:59,559 and you set up the necessary infrastructure and architecture to prevent these things. And 177 00:16:59,639 --> 00:17:03,120 the very first thing you do, no matter whether you show up to Butler, 178 00:17:03,159 --> 00:17:07,240 Pennsylvania, or to Los Angeles or to you know, some you know 179 00:17:07,279 --> 00:17:12,839 small town in Mississippi or overseas, is you contact the local police department and 180 00:17:14,559 --> 00:17:18,880 start collaborating and it, honestly, it was so much fun. I enjoyed 181 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:22,240 that aspect of what we did. It was our bread and butter. And 182 00:17:22,319 --> 00:17:26,759 so we're very very collaborative. We don't come in and dictate here's how we're 183 00:17:26,799 --> 00:17:29,240 going to do this. We come in and say, look, here's the 184 00:17:29,319 --> 00:17:32,440 job that needs to be done. Do you have any suggestions about how we 185 00:17:32,559 --> 00:17:36,960 might do that? And what resources are you bringing to the table. With 186 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:45,960 respect to whether it was wilful, I just I can't. I can't strongly 187 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:52,680 enough say that there's nothing wilful here on behalf of the agents, those who 188 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:57,640 go out on the road and set these up. I just can't, even 189 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:03,440 in my wildest imagination and fathom that there was any kind of even negligence. 190 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:10,359 Really that that they are very dedicated and they are very serious about the job 191 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:15,400 that they're given to do. But every advance is different, and every architecture 192 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:19,599 and the infrastructure is going to be different. The collaboration and the coordination is 193 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:25,359 different. And I think what we're going to see in the aftermath is that 194 00:18:25,359 --> 00:18:30,720 that either there was a lack of communication or there was a lack of coordination 195 00:18:30,039 --> 00:18:34,359 and disappointing failures either way. And you know, at the end of the 196 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:40,160 day, the Secret Service it owns these events. And and like I said, 197 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:44,960 you you do everything that that you have to do to prevent as Plan 198 00:18:45,039 --> 00:18:48,000 A, Plan B. We have the agents, the snipers, all of 199 00:18:48,039 --> 00:18:56,000 these in place too to as a backup to to to to react to this 200 00:18:56,079 --> 00:19:02,599 situation, and they performed heroically. But when you when the person you're assigned 201 00:19:02,599 --> 00:19:07,519 to protect leaves with a gunshot wound, when people in that crowd are wounded 202 00:19:07,599 --> 00:19:14,160 and one of them is killed, then it's hard to argue that that failure 203 00:19:14,279 --> 00:19:22,079 is not the end result. Clearly, U HAUL must really love Democrat run 204 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:26,839 states. The watch Dout on Wall Street podcast with Chris Markowski. Every day 205 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:30,839 Chris helps unpack the connection between politics and the economy and how it affects your 206 00:19:30,839 --> 00:19:36,039 wallet. The irs has revealed the true exodus of American from places like California 207 00:19:36,079 --> 00:19:40,759 and New York to Florida and Texas, and billions of adjusted gross income people 208 00:19:40,839 --> 00:19:44,039 move. U haul wins. Whether it's happening in DC or down on Wall 209 00:19:44,039 --> 00:19:45,960 Street, it's affecting you financially. Be informed. Check out the Watch dot 210 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:49,640 on Wall Street podcast with Chris Markowski on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get 211 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:57,599 your podcasts. But I'm sure you can you can understand the concern and the 212 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:08,880 context here from from those who have grave worries about an administration that has and 213 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:17,359 there's a good deal of evidence to back up and corroborate these ideas that this 214 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:25,559 is an administration that has in many ways weaponized the Justice Department to target a 215 00:20:25,599 --> 00:20:30,880 political enemy. Certainly, the rhetoric is there and the action speak volumes as 216 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:36,000 well with as many times now, you know, we can argue in this 217 00:20:36,079 --> 00:20:41,799 country about, you know, whether the former president you know, did this 218 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:49,559 or did that. But the question remains. We've seen so much of the 219 00:20:51,359 --> 00:20:56,680 political the political nature behind some of this stuff. But the concerns certainly are 220 00:20:56,720 --> 00:21:02,319 not lost on those who have paid attention to what's happening over the last three 221 00:21:02,319 --> 00:21:07,680 and a half years about well, I'll say it, say it for what 222 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:11,960 it is that this could have been an inside job at least that's the argument. 223 00:21:12,279 --> 00:21:17,759 Yeah, you know, an inside job would would really have to be 224 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:22,960 well coordinated. You know. Again, I just I'm I'm to have a 225 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:26,960 hard time with that, with that theory. What I will say though, 226 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:33,079 is just like my the sarcastic comment about the memo that I'm looking for from 227 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:37,440 DHS where they pledge their support and they pledged their resources and and and and 228 00:21:37,519 --> 00:21:44,680 all that I I I do think that that if the priority of the Secret 229 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:49,240 Service is not appreciated, and that that other priorities that I've been hearing about 230 00:21:49,359 --> 00:21:52,960 have been rammed down the throat of the Secret Service, that's a problem. 231 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:57,880 And to me, my personal opinion is that you know, ever since we 232 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:06,680 moved from to DHS, the process of assimilating the Secret Service to the bottom 233 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:12,960 of the DHS priority list has been pretty clear to me, at least that 234 00:22:14,079 --> 00:22:19,279 is what I felt serving there until twenty twenty. And you know, we're 235 00:22:19,319 --> 00:22:26,400 we're lumped in with with other agencies whose missions are important, but we're fighting 236 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:33,839 for resources just like every other DHS entity. And you do feel like you're 237 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:38,319 not a priority, like your mission is not a priority, and and that's 238 00:22:38,759 --> 00:22:41,319 that's a shame. And if, if you know, if we want to 239 00:22:41,319 --> 00:22:47,759 connect the dots to show that the lack of priority on the Secret Service and 240 00:22:47,799 --> 00:22:52,240 for the Secret Service to enable them to do their mission was was pushed from 241 00:22:52,279 --> 00:22:59,319 the top down, then let's call it what it is that that's you know, 242 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:03,279 that's that's where I think that's coming from. I just don't think I'm 243 00:23:03,319 --> 00:23:06,960 not going to see that from the from the bottom up, but certainly it's 244 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,880 that's what I felt from the top down. Very interesting. Ken Valentine, 245 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:17,519 a former US Secret Service special agent involved in protecting three sitting US presidents, 246 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:21,960 joining us on the Federalist Radio Hour his new book, Cheating Death. Three 247 00:23:22,079 --> 00:23:26,680 time presidential Secret Service agent Lives to tell you how let's talk about that. 248 00:23:29,799 --> 00:23:34,119 Not that we know of, but it would seem that, based on my 249 00:23:34,799 --> 00:23:41,880 understanding and knowledge of history, the presidents you protected, you never had a 250 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:47,079 situation quite like they had in Pennsylvania. But I'm sure you had your share 251 00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:52,279 of threats to challenging you, you bet, and you know, thankfully, 252 00:23:53,039 --> 00:23:57,119 praise God that I've never had to jump in front of live bullets. I've 253 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:00,839 jumped in front of a lot of plastic bulls. It's out at training, 254 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:06,799 and you know, planned and rehearsed and practiced this time and time again. 255 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:12,559 But what you saw last Saturday was was these guys and girls do this in 256 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:18,279 real time with live fire, and they did it just the way we rehearsed. 257 00:24:18,279 --> 00:24:19,640 But one of my favorite sayings, and I use it in the book 258 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:25,880 a Lot, is preparation meets opportunity. And so the preparation that we've all 259 00:24:26,079 --> 00:24:30,759 undergone met with that opportunity and they did perform well. The example that I 260 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:34,920 used in the book, one of them was nine to eleven, and we 261 00:24:36,279 --> 00:24:37,599 you know, the night of nine to eleven. A lot of people don't 262 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:45,799 realize we evacuated the President upon intelligence suggesting that there was an airplane headed for 263 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:49,400 the White House very late that night on nine to eleven, and there really 264 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:56,880 was an airplane headed for the White House. So we effected an evacuation with 265 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:03,440 the President and the First Lady which had never been done for and the preparation 266 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:07,519 met with the opportunity that night. It was it was a flawless evacuation. 267 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:12,079 It was it was safely and effectively done with President Bush and First Lady Laura 268 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:18,000 Bush. And so that's that's important to me. I think you always keep 269 00:25:18,039 --> 00:25:25,720 your eye on the preparation because the opportunities are coming. Just amazing to think 270 00:25:25,759 --> 00:25:30,119 of the preparations, amazing to think of all the training that is involved in 271 00:25:30,119 --> 00:25:34,200 this, and clearly you can't talk about and I know secret we know that 272 00:25:34,319 --> 00:25:40,720 by covering the convention in Milwaukee. There are certain things that Secret Service and 273 00:25:40,799 --> 00:25:45,200 law enforcement agencies aren't going to talk about insecurity. But what are those things 274 00:25:45,279 --> 00:25:51,880 now, as a retired member of the US Secret Service team, can you 275 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:56,680 tell us about we might not know? And there's a lot we don't know 276 00:25:56,759 --> 00:26:02,599 about the Secret Service and protect and by design, but some things that you 277 00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:07,480 can talk about that might surprise some folks. Sure, you know, day 278 00:26:07,519 --> 00:26:12,119 in and day out, thankfully people don't have to think about the Secret Service. 279 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:15,880 And you know, one of the things that I spoke yesterday at the 280 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:22,400 International Conference of Police Chaplains and told them, you know, it's easy to 281 00:26:23,079 --> 00:26:29,680 think that your job that maybe you don't matter. I would beg to differ. 282 00:26:30,039 --> 00:26:33,319 But even a Secret Service agent, day in and day out, when 283 00:26:33,319 --> 00:26:37,920 you do your job perfectly effectively, it was a great day, you might 284 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:42,079 tend to think that you're just breaking even. But you know, especially in 285 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:47,240 light of what happened the other day, when you can get your protectee back 286 00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:52,519 safely, not bleeding, then you've cheated death and you actually win. And 287 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:59,519 you know, we need to push that narrative. I feel like on all 288 00:26:59,599 --> 00:27:03,359 people that people matter. You're not just a clump of cells that doesn't matter. 289 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:10,920 And I think in society we're seeing suicide rates and just this assault on 290 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:18,960 one another that it's unprecedented. And so I you know, if we don't 291 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:23,000 do our job effectively, if we don't cheat death, it certainly awaits those 292 00:27:23,039 --> 00:27:29,720 that we protect, and that's heavy upon Secret Service agents. That cheating death 293 00:27:29,799 --> 00:27:33,839 was a term that we use to remind each other both of the importance of 294 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:37,400 the mission, but also kind of a tongue in cheek way to just poke 295 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:41,880 at each other and say, you know, keep the mission first, pay 296 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:45,960 attention to detail, and let's get the job done well. I think context 297 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:49,799 is important, as we mentioned before, and I think you just put your 298 00:27:49,799 --> 00:27:56,680 finger on something that is extremely important. It's always been dangerous work trying to 299 00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:00,559 protect a president. It just seems to me that it's become much more difficult 300 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:07,839 these days, just as heated and divided it is in this country, and 301 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:11,880 the folks of the Secret Service are dealing with that reality every day. It's 302 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:18,799 a fascinating look inside the world of a As I mentioned before, by design 303 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:25,000 a secret agency to guard the lives of dignitaries and President of the United States. 304 00:28:25,079 --> 00:28:30,440 Ken Valentine, a former US Secret Service special agent involved in protecting three 305 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:37,640 sitting US presidents, is fascinating new book and very timely new book, Cheating 306 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:42,480 Death. Three time presidential Secret Service agent lives to tell you how. Ken, 307 00:28:42,519 --> 00:28:45,319 thank you so much for taking the time and joining us today on the 308 00:28:45,319 --> 00:28:51,759 Federalist Radio Hour. My pleasure, Matt, thank you. You bet you've 309 00:28:51,799 --> 00:28:56,119 been listening to another edition of the Federalist Radio Hour. I'm Matt Kittle, 310 00:28:56,200 --> 00:29:00,200 Senior correspondent at the Federalist. We'll be back soon with more. Until then, 311 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:03,839 stay lovers of freedom and anxious for the frame.