With so much ground to cover on the attempted assassination of President Trump on Saturday, the focus here will be on the shocking failure of the Secret Service — the agency, not Trump’s personal detail, which was stellar — to protect him.

The climate of deranged hatred towards Trump (“worse than Hitler!”) created by leftists and building for the past several years into a battle cry virtually guaranteed a serious assassination attempt, and there may be more.  As it happens, Scott Adams discussed this in his podcast Saturday, ahead of the incident, saying that both Trump and Biden were at risk of losing their lives.  But in both cases, the risk to their safety was coming from the left:  Trump because he was the political enemy, Biden because he wouldn’t voluntarily step away from the race he’d likely lose to the political enemy.

But it’s Sunday’s podcast from Adams that is the real must-see.  As a trained hypnotist and professional persuader, he sees the past several years of toxic messages from the left as an attempt at a “slow-motion assassination,” trying to prod someone to do the dirty job they themselves would love to do, ostensibly to “save our democracy” from a supposed would-be dictator.  Top Secret Service officials had to know the risk President Trump faced any time he was in public.

It’s unforgivable that a shooter was able to climb to the roof of a taller building with a clear line of sight to the podium where Trump was standing.  Ordinarily, this is the FIRST THING Secret Service agents would secure.  (The configuration has been described as reminiscent of Dealey Plaza, where President Kennedy was shot in 1963 while riding in an open limousine.)

Elon Musk, to name just one, has called for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign, and she should.

Musk claimed yesterday that there have been two separate attempts on his own life in the past eight months, but the armed would-be assassins were arrested as they drove to Tesla headquarters in Texas.  In Adams’ words, “The Democrats have worked people into a dangerous frenzy with their rhetoric.”

Retired Gen. Mike Flynn, whose targeting so far seems confined to the legal system, advised that Trump have “exceptional private security” until he gets into the Oval Office because “you can’t trust the Secret Service.”

Recall that Rep. Bennie Thompson, who headed Nancy Pelosi’s sham J6 “Select” Committee, introduced a bill removing Secret Service protection from President Trump entirely because he’s a “convicted felon.”  (Technically, Trump is not convicted at this point, but Thompson surely doesn’t know why or care.) Thompson was joined by eight co-sponsors who had to know that stripping Trump of his protection before sending him to prison would be a likely death sentence, and they were okay with that.

Incidentally, one of Thompson’s staffers was fired after posting this to X after the shooting: “I don’t condone violence but please get you some shooting lessons so you don’t miss next time ooops that wasn’t me talking.”

Recall also that the White House refused to provide Secret Service protection to third-party candidate Robert Kennedy, Jr., even though his uncle and brother were both assassinated.  How is this even possible?

Adams notes that by running as weak a candidate as Biden and creating fear that Trump will win, the Democrats “put the entire Republic in jeopardy” by encouraging their minions to do “whatever is necessary.”  If Biden were a stronger candidate, they wouldn’t feel the need to take such desperate measures.  Good point; be sure and see the entire Scott Adams podcast when you have time.

Aside:  Must disagree, though, with one thing Adams says, that “Biden can’t be replaced now.”  He says so because before this, a replacement might have been able to beat Trump but now would be walking “into a buzz saw.”  Even so, depending on how well Biden does cognitively in the coming weeks, we can envision exceptions to this.  For now, it’s not being discussed publicly, but it will be again.  We’ll address this later; it’s a story for another day.  Adams does allow that he “could be wrong.”

So, who denied additional Secret Service to President Trump?  Reportedly it was Homeland Security head Alejandro Mayorkas.  Congress has already impeached Mayorkas once — the Democrat-led Senate tossed both charges without a trial — but if it’s true that he withheld needed security to Trump, now it’s REALLY impeachment time.  Substack writer John A. Lucas points out that “Mayorkas’ lies about national security were reinforced by the White House” and that we may conclude from this that “Mayorkas and the Administration have a different idea about security than most of us.”  Also, “they were making it easier for someone to kill [Trump].”

As Jesse Watters noted Sunday night, we came within “an inch of a live execution,” adding that when Obama was running for President, he was shielded by “sheaths of bullet-proof glass.”  Former U.S. Army sniper Cory Mills told Watters that “this is massive negligence to the point of me speculating on what was intentional and what wasn’t.”

Lucas concurs: “People in the crowd saw the gunman going up to the roof with a rifle, repeatedly warned the police who did nothing. Civilians at the rally have said that they expressly told the police what they saw and kept pointing out the gunman to the Secret Service counter-snipers, but no one took notice or did anything. Where was the Secret Service while this was happening? Why were the police apparently indifferent to the reports of the gunmen? Did they not see what the civilians saw?”

We still don’t know for sure if they “took notice” and what, if anything, they tried to do, but these are critical questions to ask.

House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer has already contacted the Secret Service for a briefing.

But in the words of investigative reporter/analyst Julie Kelly, writing from London, “The FBI immediately took over the investigation into the shooter, a move that doesn’t inspire confidence among Trump supporters who have little or no faith in the politicized agency.”

This is consistent with what Scott Adams says some have noted:  that “the Secret Service, the CIA and the FBI will investigate themselves and conclude they were not involved.”  Assume this will happen.  Once again, Congress will have to do the work our law enforcement won’t do.

Kelly says to “prepare for the worst” in the coming months, as “the tone will worsen between now and November, potentially reaching a full-blown crisis if Trump wins the election.”  Because, you know, Trump is such a threat to democracy.

As for claims that one of the sharpshooters there to protect Trump took longer than he should have after noticing the would-be Trump-murderer to take the shot at him, please don’t come to any conclusion prematurely.  This agent will certainly need to testify as to his reason for any perceived delay.  There’s also a question about whether this shooter was FBI or local law enforcement.

Something else intriguing that Adams points out:  Brian Berletic, a geopolitical analyst who served in the U.S. Marines, posted on X that the now-iconic American flag flying so close to Trump on that stage might have served as an aid to the shooter, helping him know and adjust for wind speed and direction.  “In other words, the Secret Service allowed a sharpshooter indicator right next to Trump.”  There were three professional snipers on the Secret Service detail; would THEY not have picked up on this?  Or did they say something, and the warning went unheeded?

Numerous former Secret Service agents have spoken publicly about what they see as a clear security failure.  On Laura Ingraham’s FOX NEWS show Sunday night, Tim Miller said he’s torn, because along with this “colossal failure,” he saw President Trump’s personal security detail performing “spectacularly, once the event occurred.”  But the advance person is supposed to “cover every inch” for every possible threat, so security detail personnel “know they’re coming into a secure environment.”  He reiterated what we’ve said, that “the first thing you look at is the high places.”

He’d spoken with many agents on Sunday, adding that this breaks his heart.  “All of us knew,” he said, “every day we put that suit on, every day we came to work, we knew we were willing to die to protect the life of the President.  And I’m having the same questions.  You know, I defend the Secret Service when it’s appropriate to defend it.  But almost losing the next President of the United States to gross incompetency,…”  From a vantage point 150 yards away, he said, “This was the easiest of shots.”

Former British special agent sniper, retired Sgt. Major Mark Spicer agreed.  “How someone was able to get on that roof is beyond me,” he said.  “…Whoever planned that, I’m sorry, they have some serious questions to answer.”  He couldn’t have imagined the U.S. would have such a security failure.  But at the time of this writing, the Secret Service is still quiet.  Where is Director Cheatle??

Ingraham also interviewed a rally attendee, Michael Difrischia, who got video of the “determined”- looking shooter on that roof — BEFORE he took his shot at Trump.  “It seems like there was enough time that, you know, I wish could’ve gotten to him before somebody had to lose their life.”   You must hear his story.

As long as you’re watching Ingraham, don’t miss her “Angle” segment, which makes it clear that those crafting the “Trump is Hitler” hysteria did it with full knowledge that it’s B.S.  (How else could they wish him “a speedy recovery”?)  She echoes what we’ve said about House Republicans having to investigate this security failure on their own.  Ingraham happens to have spoken personally with a very “upbeat, funny” Trump right before he left for Pennsylvania and a date with a bullet.

We’re not sure what to make of this:  investigators at Quantico reportedly have the shooter’s cellphone but say they still haven’t been able to access information because it’s locked.  What??

RELATED:  MELANIA MAKES STATEMENT

Victims of this kind of political hysteria have families, too.  In fact, Barron Trump, the son of President and Melania Trump, was there on the stage with him at a recent rally.  Melania has issued the perfect, must-read statement, possibly the most eloquent expression about the attempt on the life of “Donald, the generous and caring man who I have been with through the best of times and the worst of times.”