PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — President Trump was back in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday following a visit to Miami.
It's safe to assume Trump will spend a lot of time at his Mar-a-Lago resort this term as he did during his first term. But, after the attempted assassinations, WPTV wanted to know what security measures are being taken this time around.
WPTV reporter Michael Hoffman sat down with Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw to discuss the complicated task of protecting the president.
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When Trump came into town, flight restrictions were immediate at places like the Lantana Airport. Officials would force airplanes to land at a "gateway airport" for an inspection before landing, usually on very short notice. Bradshaw said that won't change.
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“They'll restrict the airspace for like, a half hour, 45 minutes before he gets here, and then when he gets ready to leave,” said Bradshaw. “But that's controlled by the Secret Service in conjunction with the Air Force because if we have an airplane that's going to violate the airspace, there'll be a couple F-18s up here before you know it.”
Bradshaw and his team run the local layer of protection when the president is in town. Namely, his motorcades and the blockages that come with it.
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“That's why the areas of the entrances and exits at I-95 will be blocked off,” Bradshaw said. “And we do it on a rolling basis, in other words, ahead of time, right? And then as soon as he gets by, then it'll get opened up.”
Bradshaw says decisions surrounding the president’s protection are made by the Secret Service, but new ones have been added this term, in the wake of last year's assassination attempt at Trump International Golf Course.
“Protocol has changed,” said Bradshaw. “As far as the Secret Service requesting what we do, they learned a lesson off of that. So now we're comfortable with what's going on when he goes to the golf course. We'll make sure that that perimeter is secure before he goes there. Without a doubt, any time you secure a place, once you sweep it, then nobody's allowed to go there.”
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Bradshaw said at the end of the day, the mission is clear.
“We have to do the best job we can do to make sure that everything is going to be okay," Bradshaw said. "Because if we're not, something happens, we will be the center of the universe.”
