Shooting at Trump golf club raises concerns about security of ex-president

It is currently unknown if Trump was the target of the shooting or if it was unrelated, according to authorities.

The Trump International Golf Club, where shots were fired on Sunday as the former president was on-site. (AP)

Shots were fired on Sunday near the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida while the former president was on-site, again raising questions about candidate security.

“President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity,” Trump communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement. “No further details at this time.”

Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said the agency, along with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, are investigating “a protective incident involving former President Donald Trump that occurred shortly before 2 p.m. The former president is safe.”

A motorcade carrying former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump International Golf Club, Sunday, April 2, 2023, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

In a statement of her own, Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic rival for the Oval Office, said, “I have been briefed on reports of gunshots fired near former President Trump and his property in Florida, and I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.”

It is currently unknown if Trump was the target of the shooting or if it was unrelated. Secret Service agents opened fire on a person in the vicinity holding a gun, the Associated Press reported. The person, who fled the scene in an SUV, was later captured by police in a neighboring county, law enforcement sources told the AP.

Former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage by U.S. Secret Service agents after being grazed by a bullet during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania (Getty Images)

Security around Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach country-club-turned-residence, was beefed up after gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks shot the Republican presidential candidate in an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.

“The safety and security of our protectees is the U.S. Secret Service’s top priority,” the agency said of its plan to shut down thoroughfares running along the perimeter of the property. (The guidelines were relaxed after outrage from local residents.)

Trump regularly travels between his properties across the country, including clubs, hotels, and golf courses in Florida, New Jersey, Virginia, Nevada, and elsewhere. Various Trump-branded properties around the world are prime targets for attack, experts have said.

The twice-impeached ex-president has long been known for lax security standards, despite regularly stoking hatred and racial division. On January 6, 2021, shortly before his supporters stormed the US Capitol, Trump demanded attendees be allowed to enter without first going through metal detectors, former aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified.

Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s home in Palm Beach (REUTERS)

In 2019, during his third year in office, a suspected Chinese spy was intercepted on the grounds of Mar-a-Lago, setting off alarms about Trump’s spotty adherence to security protocols.

“Foreign countries aren’t stupid,” former CIA analyst Cindy Otis said at the time. “They send officials to stay at Trump hotels for a reason. They know that he does not care about [operational security] and that he speaks openly and loudly about government issues wherever he goes, so foreign intelligence services are going to look for ways to monitor those conversations, either by gaining physical access or through electronic means.”

Trump is entitled to round-the-clock Secret Service protection; the Trumps have come under fire for charging their security detail top-dollar for rooms and food while protecting the then-president at his properties. Records obtained by watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington showed the Secret Service laying out some $2 million in taxpayer funds “for the right to protect [Trump] and his family.”