Trump Ends Security Details for People Who Get Death Threats Because of Him
Last year, Donald Trump and his 2024 staff were worried about U.S. intel suggesting there could be an Iranian plot to assassinate the former and now current American president.
Yet, in the waning months of that election, Trump — who survived a separate attempt on his life just before his nominating convention in Milwaukee — would occasionally joke to close allies that he would not care if Iranian assassins killed John Bolton, an Iran hawk and Trump’s former national security adviser-turned-critic, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
“That’s terrible, I shouldn’t say that,” Trump privately said, smirking, in one casual conversation in late 2024, one of the sources recalls.
Within hours of Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Monday, the newly sworn-in president eliminated Bolton’s Secret Service protective detail, which former President Joe Biden had extended due to an alleged Iranian government plot to kill Bolton.
Bolton, a longtime war hawk who worked in senior roles in the George W. Bush and Trump administrations, wasn’t the only real or perceived enemy whom Trump sought to punish during his first week back in office, by stripping them of their government-provided security. In fact, Bolton was one of several former U.S. officials who fell into a hyper-specific, grim and petty category: someone who gets death threats because of Trump, only to have Trump now suddenly rip away their protective detail and leave them to fend for themselves.
During his first term in the White House, Trump ordered the Jan. 2020 assassination by drone-strike of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Soon after, according to U.S. officials, Iran’s government began exploring revenge plans to target high-level Trump administration figures and Iran hawks, such as Bolton — even though Bolton had already departed the Trump team by the time of the Soleimani strike.
Still, due to the security concerns caused by Trump’s decision to kill the general,
Bolton was offered years of Secret Service protection. Other first-term Trump officials who were allegedly targeted for death or retaliation by Iranians, and have been receiving U.S. government security because of active threats, include former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Brian Hook, who served as Pompeo’s senior policy aide at the State Department.
Pompeo spoke on-stage at the 2024 Republican National Convention, praising Trump, and had spent time trying to mend his relationship with his former boss following a rough patch during the Biden era.
It didn’t matter.
In his first days back in the White House, Trump terminated both Pompeo and Hook’s State Department protective details. Sources close to Trump tell Rolling Stone that the president views both men as disloyal, and continues to hold a nasty grudge.
Again: All three of these men only had this level of security because they were involved with crafting and carrying out policies that Trump had them craft and carry out. And he’s pulled their security details even though he and his staff were warned that doing so could put the three in danger. As The New York Times reported, “The Biden administration had briefed the new administration about continued threats from Iran to former Trump officials, including Mr. Pompeo, Mr. Hook and Mr. Bolton.”
As a reality TV star, Manhattan real estate mogul, tabloid celebrity, and leader of the Republican Party, Trump has long been infamous for his extreme commitment to pettiness and vengeance, to such an extent that it can make or break major policy or political decisions. Now that he’s back in power, Trump is leading a retribution tour, and directing it right at his former officials.
And Trump didn’t stop at the Iran hawks.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leading member of Trump’s White House coronavirus task force, was also stripped of his government-provided security detail. Fauci, who headed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for many years, served as the public face of the Trump administration’s pandemic response efforts — even as Trump and his MAGA allies grew annoyed with him and publicly attacked him. Fauci went on to serve as Biden’s chief medical advisor.
The attacks have only grown more severe over the years, as right-wingers became increasingly convinced of conspiracy theories relating to Covid and vaccines. Fauci still receives violent threats to this day — as well as occasional threats from Trump. Over the summer, Trump reposted a photoshopped image of Fauci and several Democrats wearing orange jumpsuits in prison with the message: “HOW TO ACTUALLY ‘FIX THE SYSTEM.’”
In one of his final moves as president, Biden issued a preemptive, blanket pardon to Fauci, among others. “These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing,” Biden said in a statement. “Baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety and financial security of targeted individuals and their families.”
Fauci said he appreciated the pardon, but he didn’t ask for it. He noted that “we did nothing wrong, but the baseless accusations and threats are real for me and my family.”
Speaking with reporters on Friday, Trump defended terminating his former administration officials’ security details, saying:”you can’t have a security detail for the rest of your life because you worked for government.”
Asked whether he feel responsible if something were to happen to Fauci or Bolton, Trump said no.
“You know, they all made a lot of money,” he said. “They can hire their own security too. All the people you’re talking about, they can go out — I can give them some good numbers of very good security people. They can hire their own security. They all made a lot of money. Fauci made a lot of money. They all did.”
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