Washington:
The head of US homeland security hit back Saturday at misogynistic attacks on the female Secret Service agents who threw themselves into the line of fire to protect Donald Trump from a would-be assassin.
“These claims are baseless and insulting,” Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement after some on the US political right accused the Secret Service of “woke” hiring practices that they say nearly got the former president killed.
He praised the “highly skilled and trained” women serving at every level of law enforcement across the country for “risking their lives on the front lines for the safety and security of others.”
“They are courageous and selfless patriots who deserve our gratitude and respect,” he wrote.
The Department of Homeland Security will “continue to recruit, retain and elevate women in our law enforcement ranks with great pride, focus and dedication to the mission. It will make our ministry better and our country safer,” he continued.
In the week since a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania, killing one bystander, wounding two others and leaving the Republican bloodied but alive, rightists have unleashed a barrage of criticism of the Secret Service for has women in its ranks.
Several women can be seen among the black-clad, sunglasses-clad officers rushing to shield Trump with their bodies as gunshots ring out at the rally, before herding him from the stage to a waiting car and safety.
But they, along with their boss Kimberly Cheatle – only the second-ever female director of the federal agency charged with protecting current, former and future presidents – are now caught up in the intensive investigation into the near-catastrophic attack.
“There should be no women in the secret service. These are supposed to be the very best, and none of the very best in this position are women,” wrote right-wing activist Matt Walsh on X, in a typical post.
Many of the attacks mentioned DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion – hiring practices that have long been criticized by some Republicans as discriminatory against white people, particularly white men.
“The results of DEI. DEI killed someone,” read a post on the popular Libs of TikTok account.
The Secret Service has defended itself against such accusations in the past, with a spokesperson telling US media just weeks before the assassination attempt that agents “are held to the highest professional standards… at no time has the agency lowered these standards. “
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)