The unique case of Trump's security: 'Not your average former president protected by Secret Service'

A former US Secret Service agent told ITV News he believes the agency is 'finally realising' that Donald Trump is a 'unique protectee'

Words by James Gray, ITV News Producer

Donald Trump has been described as "not your typical former president" and a "unique protectee" of the US Secret Service following a second apparent assassination attempt.

Secret Service agents foiled what the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said "appears to be an attempted assassination" on Sunday as the 78-year-old former president played a round of golf at one of his Florida clubs.

It comes months after Trump narrowly avoided death when a gunman opened fire at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

The latest development has re-opened discussions into the curious security challenge Trump poses the Secret Service - which is charged with his lifetime protection as a former president.

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Speaking to ITV News, former Secret Service agent Robert McDonald said he believed the agency is "finally realising that former president Trump is not your average former president that is protected by the Secret Service".

He said: "We protect former president Clinton, former president Bush, former president Obama, who go and do occasional venues, book signings, speeches or things like that. 

"They are not out running for president again, they are not necessarily as controversial, I guess I could say, as former president Trump.

"He garners attention, he garners ill-will, he garners terrific support in some venues.

"So he is not your typical former president, and I think the Secret Service is finally realising, or I hope they're realising, that again he is a unique individual, he is a unique brand and he is a unique protectee of the Secret Service."

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What security does Trump receive?

As a former president, Donald Trump and his spouse, Melania Trump, receive protection from the Secret Service for life.

The Secret Service is a federal law enforcement agency which is entrusted with the protection of the incumbent US president and vice president, their predecessors and visiting foreign heads of state, among others.

The level of security provided to former presidents varies depending on threat levels and exposure.

As a former president, who is also running for re-election, Trump presents a unique security challenge for the Secret Service.

Trump was the target of an assassination attempt on his life at a campaign rally in July. Credit: AP

His political campaigning has increased the degree of public exposure and interaction he receives, and, in turn, the threat to his personal security.

A failed assassination attempt on Trump's life in July prompted significant criticism of the Secret Service and level of protection it provides the former president.

Kimberly Cheatle resigned as the then-head of the Secret Service following the incident, which she described as the "most significant operational failure" for the agency in decades.

Trump has since received heightened levels of security, although it is still not equivalent to that of a serving president.

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