Story highlights
Donald Trump said his team has had preliminary discussions with the Secret Service
The Homeland Security Department said they have not heard from the Trump campaign
Despite attracting huge crowds, Donald Trump believes the government has not yet granted him Secret Service protection because he is a Republican.
“They’re in no rush because I’m a Republican. They don’t give a s—,” Trump jokingly told the Hill.
“I want to put them on notice because they should have a liability,” he said. “Personally, I think if Obama were doing as well as me he would’ve had Secret Service [earlier]. I have by far the biggest crowds.”
“Of course I don’t think they’d want anything to happen. But I would think they should be very proactive and want protection for somebody like me that has 20,000 people at any time,” Trump said. “You would think that they would want to be very proactive, but we have not heard from them.”
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Then-Senator Obama made an official request in writing, according to a U.S. offiical. That’s what triggered the earlier-than-normal DHS procedure for him during the 2008 presidential campaign.
Trump said members of his private security team have had preliminary conversations with the Secret Service, but a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security said it had not received an official request from the Trump campaign for protection.
“If a request is received, this authorization is determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security after consultation with a congressional advisory committee which includes the Speaker of the House, House Minority Leader, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, and one additional member selected by the aforementioned committee,” DHS press secretary Marsha Catron said in a statement.
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Evan Perez contributed to this report