Female Secret Service Agents at Donald Trump Shooting

About

Female Secret Service Agents at Donald Trump Shooting refers to the female Secret Service agents who were present at the 2024 Donald Trump Shooting and Assassination Attempt, which were seen responding after shots were fired at the Former President. In the following days, the women's ability to protect Donald Trump was questioned in viral discourse and memes following the event, additionally centering on the Director of the U.S. Secret Service Kimberly Cheatle who reportedly wanted the Secret Service workforce to be 30 percent women by 2030. Many people called the women "diversity hires" in viral posts and blamed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). A video showing one of the female agents trying to holster her weapon went viral on Twitter / X. The agent was also seen seemingly hiding behind Trump on stage following the gunfire. The particular agent most prominently discussed was a brunette sporting a ponytail. Many of the memes and reactions about the women were dubbed sexist and misogynistic by others online because they demeaned the women based on their gender, suggesting that men are inherently better Secret Service agents and bodyguards.

Origin

On July 13th, 2024, Former U.S. President Donald Trump was almost killed by a gunman at a Pennsylvania rally.^[1] Secret Service agents tasked with protecting Trump rushed to the stage where he was standing, including female agents, as the group huddled around him.

Currently, the first known viral post about the female agents was a tweet shared by X^[2] user @SharylAttkisson on July 13th at approximately 10:24 p.m. EST. She attached a clip from C-SPAN's live coverage of the shooting showing three female Secret Service agents guiding Trump into a vehicle. She captioned the video, "Watching the ladies at work here." In replies^[3] to her own tweet, it's evident that @SharylAttkisson was being sarcastic. Over two days, the tweet received roughly 14.9 million views and 55,000 likes (shown below).

Watching the ladies at work here. pic.twitter.com/ySuIw78VfR

— Sharyl Attkisson 🕵️‍♂️💼🥋 (@SharylAttkisson) July 14, 2024

Spread

The abovementioned post received a slew of reactions in quotes and replies. For instance, on July 13th, 2024, X^[4] user @RyderSelmi noted that the female agent on the video's left side failed to holster her weapon multiple times, writing, "Female secret service agent almost ND’s into herself as she struggles to holster her weapon. Another is playing with her sunglasses. Total embarrassment." In two days, the quote gained over 3,500 likes (shown below, left).

Others criticized @SharylAttkisson's post, like X^[5] user @PackDaddy_22 on July 13th, who replied, "Just STOP!!! They are Secret Service Agents doing their duty. Has nothing to do with race or gender. So disappointed in your comment," gaining over 1,000 likes in two days (shown below, right).

Conservative pundits and Trump supporters with large followings then shared posts about the female Secret Service agents, such as X^[6] user @DC_Draino on July 14th, 2024, who posted a photo, showing one of the female agents appearing to hide behind Trump and the other agents huddling him onstage, writing, "This photo right here is why women should not be allowed to do Presidential protection details / Humiliating," receiving over 175,000 likes in a day (shown below).

A photo of the female agent in the abovementioned post started circulating in memes that day. For instance, on July 14th, X^[7] user @mommapancakess tweeted, "She never did manage to get this gun holstered," receiving roughly 3,200 likes in a day (shown below, left).

Also on July 14th, 2024, X^[8] user @k9_reaper posted the photo, referencing the then-recent Gen Z Boss and a Mini meme, writing, "Itty bity Glock and a fupa!" In a day, the tweet gained over 42,000 likes (shown below, right).

Amid the discourse, some also praised the female Secret Service agents in viral posts. For instance, on July 14th, 2024, TikToker^[9] @shemamamaps posted the video of the female agents after guiding Trump into a vehicle, writing, "Can we talk about this bad a** woman!" receiving over 1.7 million plays and 64,600 likes in a day (shown below).

Kimberly Cheatle Discourse

Discourse ensued about acting Director of the U.S. Secret Service Kimberly Cheatle who reportedly wanted the Secret Service workforce to be 30 percent women by 2030.^[1] Her goal inspired controversy among those who viewed the women in Donald Trump's detail at the shooting poorly.

For instance, on July 13th, 2024, X^[10] user @Cernovich shared a screenshot of Cheatle's bio that mentioned her "mission of protection and investigations by leading a diverse workforce," receiving over 32.8 million views and 18,000 likes in a day (shown below, left). Controversial conservative pundits also quoted the post in the following days, including Pearl Davis, who posted on X,^[11] receiving over 5,900 likes in a day (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

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External References