Secret Service officials encouraged Donald Trump’s campaign to stop scheduling large outdoor rallies and other outdoor events with big crowds after the assassination attempt on the former president in Butler, Pa., according to The Washington Post citing people familiar with the matter.
In the aftermath of the shooting, agents from the Secret Service communicated their concerns about large outdoor rallies going forward to Trump campaign advisers, three people familiar with the matter said.
The people familiar with the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions.
For upcoming events, Trump’s team is scouting indoor venues, such as basketball arenas and other large spaces where thousands of people can fit, people familiar with the request said. The campaign is not currently planning any large outdoor events, a person close to Trump said.
A Trump campaign spokeswoman declined to comment. A spokesman for the Secret Service said the agency does not comment on its protective methods.
Trump has held hundreds of outdoor rallies since launching his first presidential bid, often bragging about — and sometimes falsely inflating — his large crowds. They have become something of a cult favorite among his most passionate fans, with tailgate parties in parking lots, vendors lining open areas near the rally and large parades of traffic, often with gargantuan pickup trucks.
They usually include large rosters of speakers before Trump takes the stage, with crowds sometimes enduring the heat or the cold for many hours. The crowd sometimes departs before Trump, who is regularly late, finishes speaking.
The rallies are often held at airports but are also held at fairgrounds, football stadiums or other large outdoor venues.
Indoor rallies are more expensive, campaign advisers said. But one campaign official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private plans said the indoor events are inherently safer because it is easier to control who comes through a finite number of doors, and there are fewer line-of-sight issues.
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