The U.S. Secret Service's protection strategy centers on identifying and mitigating any threats that can be identified and assuring maximal readiness for any unidentified threats. As the 2024 presidential campaign heats up, the agency is preparing its field office agents to form protective details for candidates that are deemed to require protection.

At present, only two presidential candidates receive Secret Service protection. Namely, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Under federal law, both men will receive this protection for the remainder of their lives. I understand from a number of sources that both Biden and Trump face escalating threats. As Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis also has the benefit of taxpayer provided security via the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

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Of course, America is a democracy. The Secret Service's campaign strategy thus aims to provide security in a manner that avoids undermining campaign events. We gained an excellent example of this dynamic during a Trump campaign rally in Iowa last week. It came via an eleven second video posted by a Trump campaign official. To be clear, my interest here is not political but rather the video's encapsulation of what effective campaign protection looks like.

Watch the video below.

The first thing to note is the proximity of the crowd to Trump and, at least with the man whose shirt is being signed and the woman next to him, the satisfaction of those in the crowd. While this point might seem irrelevant, the Secret Service's underlying obligation is to uphold the Constitution and protect the democratic will of the people. That means ensuring that a candidate and their supporters can interact freely.

But note the protective tactics on display. For a start, look at the agents on either side of Trump. Their responsibility is to cover Trump from potential flanking attacks and to separate anyone who holds onto Trump for too long. At the same time, other agents further along the rope line in the direction of Trump's movement will have been asking members of the crowd to take their hands out of their pockets. They will also have been looking for anyone who stands out in clothing and demeanor. Anything that might indicate an individual poses a threat.

As in my screenshot below, two agents also move behind the crowd. Their job is to identify and restrain any potential threat from behind. Again, however, pay heed to how the agents blend into the crowd in a manner that does not dilute the campaign event itself.

Finally, note the agent behind Trump. He is Trump's detail supervisor or the detail agent in charge. His raised arms posture is designed to shave reaction times in responding to an attack. In the event of an attack, his role is to pull Trump away from an attacker while simultaneously twisting to put himself between the attacker and Trump. At the same time, agents on either side of Trump would converge on the attacker. The idea is to mitigate the possibility of an attacker reaching Trump or being able to sustain their attack. The more punches, stab thrusts or gunshots that an attacker can apply, after all, the more likely that Trump suffers a serious injury. This agent and others to the rear would then cover and evacuate Trump to a so-called "stronghold" location nearby (likely his heavily armored suburban).

It's easier for Trump's detail to strike this fine balance between campaign revelry and protection than it is for President Biden's detail. That's because the Presidential Protective Division operates both to keep Biden safe and to maintain his ability to lead the nation during a crisis or war. That means extraordinary resources are provided for Biden's security wherever he is located or headed. The level of complexity involved with presidential movements means that the Secret Service's foreign counterparts do not look forward to working with it. Those counterparts know the Secret Service means a lot of work and many different demands.

Still, the Secret Service's tactical methodology and application of effort is far superior to that of its foreign counterparts. Watch a video of a foreign leader, for example, and you'll normally see their protective detail trailing at a distance or adopting inferior tactics. During a recent rope line event in France, for example, the head of King Charles III's security detail stood to his right side rather than behind him. But the truth is clear: on the campaign trail, as we saw in Ecuador in August, poor tactics can be disastrous.

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