Trump campaign seeks increased security as election draws near, including military aircraft amid Iran threats
Fox News
The campaign for former President Trump has asked the White House for enhanced Secret Service security amid safety concerns in the final stages of the election, citing threats from Iran, Fox News has learned.
On Friday, President Biden was asked about the request by the GOP nominee for enhanced security protocols.
“As long as you don’t ask for F-15s. Well, look, I’ve told them to give him every, every single thing he needs as if he were a sitting president,” Biden said. “If it’s within that category. That’s fine.”
The Trump campaign cited serious threats from Iran for extra protection. It asked for temporary airspace restrictions on the campaign trail, motorcade drivers with tactical experience and vehicles like the “Beast”, the bullet-proof vehicle used by for Biden.
TRUMP BRIEFED ON ‘REAL AND SPECIFIC THREATS’ FROM IRAN TO ASSASSINATE HIM, CAMPAIGN SAYS
U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and Acting U.S. Secret Service Director Rowe warning that Iran was actively trying to kill Trump.
Waltz asked that various aircraft, including military aircraft with defense capabilities, be provided for Trump in case of a missile attack, as well as a C-17 or C-40.
The requests came following two failed assassination attempts on Trump within weeks of each other.
Last month, Trump talked of a potential Iranian assassination threat against him.
Tehran’s potential assassination plot was detailed in FBI documents that Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, showing other potential targets included Biden and former presidential candidate Nikki Haley, along with other “politicians, military people or bureaucrats.”
At one point, Trump was briefed about “real and specific threats” from Iran to assassinate him, the campaign said last month.
Iran’s aim to assassinate Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, is part of the Islamic Republic’s efforts to “destabilize and sow chaos in the United States,” Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said in a press release at the time.
Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.