The director of the Secret Service is facing blistering criticism Tuesday after claiming during an interview that personnel were not positioned on top of the building where the Trump rally shooter opened fire because of a “sloped roof,” despite images showing snipers set up on a sloped roof behind the former president’s podium.
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle made the remark during an interview with ABC News, in which she said the agency was aware of the security vulnerabilities presented by the building Thomas Matthew Crooks took a sniper’s position on to aim at Trump.
“That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof. And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside,” she said.
But critics on social media aren’t having it, calling Cheatle’s “sloped roof” comment a “total BS excuse” that “defies believability.”
SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR: TRUMP RALLY SHOOTER WAS IDENTIFIED AS ‘POTENTIAL PERSON OF SUSPICION’
Police snipers return fire after shots were fired at former President Trump during Saturday’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
“Our snipers used to set in on mountain tops in Afghanistan. On the down slopes if need be,” former Army Ranger and author Sean Parnell wrote on X, calling Cheatle’s explanation a “total BS excuse.”
“The stupidity of this statement explains so much of why s— hit the fan that day. Absolute incompetence,” he added.
Two FBI investigators scan the roof of AGR International Inc, the building adjacent to the Butler Fairgrounds, from which shooter Matthew Thomas Crooks fired at former President Trump on Saturday. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
“This sad excuse about defies believability. The snipers above President Trump were on a sloped roof so why couldn’t they secure the sloped roof that the assassin was on?” said Jim DeMint, a former U.S. senator from South Carolina. “She should have been fired days ago. We need accountability.”
The building where the Trump rally shooter was positioned, left, and snipers set up on a sloped roof behind former President Trump’s podium at the event. ( Fox News Digital/Glen Van Tryfle/TMX/Reuters)
“Ironically, the snipers who were behind Trump during the rally were on a sloped roof,” Trending Politics co-owner Collin Rugg also said on X. “She is bulls—ing and getting away with it.”
Former President Trump reacts after being shot during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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The Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital asking to clarify Cheatle’s remarks.
Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.