The Secret Service Can't Afford To Protect Trump

Molly Boigon is a former associate producer and reporter for Learning Curve, WGBH’s K-12 education desk. She has also worked for Boston Public Radio and WGBH’s higher education desk, On Campus. Her interests include jazz, yoga and public records requests. Before joining WGBH, she worked at SiriusXM, WZBC and WAAF. She has a degree in Applied Psychology and Human Development from Boston College’s Lynch School of Education.

August 23, 2017

The Secret Service has run out of money to pay for protecting the Trump family, according to a report by USA Today published earlier this week.

Taxpayers have largely reacted negatively to the news, especially since the Secret Service has spent $60,000 on golf cart rentals at two of Trump’s golf courses.

“I am for protecting those the Secret Service deems ought to be protected,” said national security expert Juliette Kayyem on BPR today. “The issue is, is Trump doing anything to mitigate that burden on the Secret Service? And I think it’s fair to say he’s doing everything to exacerbate the burden on the Secret Service.”

Kayyem explained that Trump not giving a deal to the Secret Service could be either “cheapness” or the “fallacy” that Trump is wealthy.

“I do wonder about their cash flow,” she said. “I’m not convinced that he has access to cash.”

Kayyem also explored how the Trump family’s concept of having sacrificed while serving as the first family might influence their ideas about paying for protection, a sentiment she called “bizarre.”

“Part of this is they view themselves as having sacrificed to be the Trump family in this leadership role,” she said. “This burden of being the president — you should be waking up every day and saying this is ... an honor and a privilege.”

Juliette Kayyem the host of the SCIF podcast, founder of Kayyem solutions and a WGBH and CNN contributor. To hear her interview in its entirety, click on the audio player above.