'I was shocked': Secret Service veterans describe Trump's Walter Reed photo op with supporters as 'reprehensible' and 'unconscionable'
US Secret Service veterans were floored by President Donald Trump's decision to leave Walter Reed Medical Center while infected with the coronavirus for a photo op.
A former Secret Service agent who served for more than two decades told Business Insider they thought the president's conduct was "reprehensible," adding that the agents who protect Trump would "follow him over a cliff, no questions asked, but that's not the point." "I have to tell you, I saw that photograph in the paper this morning, and I was shocked," Bill Pickle, a 26-year-veteran of the US Secret Service, told Business Insider. "It's hard to believe that someone who's that contagious would get into a vehicle with nothing more than a fabric mask. His hands weren't even covered."
"This is a no-win situation for his detail," he added. "They will do the job even if they advise against certain movements or events. But with the entire debacle widely panned, what did he gain beyond undercutting the trust and safety of those who have the critical responsibility of keeping him and his family safe?"
"The frustration with how we're treated when it comes to decisions on this illness goes back before this," a current agent who requested anonymityAsked what he would have done if he were in the shoes of the Secret Service agents who rode with Trump, Pickle didn't hesitate. "I would have done the same thing they did," he said. "They aren't there to question the president.
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