In germany, the Centre Left social Democrat Party of Chancellor Olaf Scholz narrowly fends off an electoral challenge in the eastern state of brandenburg by the far right afd which had been ahead in Opinion Polls before the vote. Sri lankas president ial election has been won in a political shift for the nation. The election on saturday was the first to be held since mass protests unseated the Countrys Leader in 2022. Ill a full bulletin at nine oclock. Now on bbc news, its time for americast. How can america keep its politics safe . Safe for everyone, but particularly safe for the candidates who are running for the presidency. It is, of course, a huge issue now. There have been two attempts on Donald Trumps life. There is a potential threat, of course, to everyone who is involved, and it has an impact on america because, in a practical sense, how do people go out and campaign if theyre unsafe doing so, but also in a kind of undermining of democracy sense, as well, that the whole nation feels itself to be unsafe and unable to be properly democratic. Donald trump has been talking about the second attempt on his life and using it, its fair to say, for his own political gain. Theyre doing things in politics that have never been done before in the history of our country, and worst of all, with their open borders and bad elections, they have made us into a third world nation, something which nobody thought was even possible. Americans deserve a campaign based on the issues. We try and keep it on the issues, and god has now spared my life. It must have been god. Thank you. Not once, but twice. And there are those that say he did it because trump is going to turn this state around~ hes going to turn this country around. Hes going to make america great again, and maybe. So how does america protect its president ial candidates . Welcome to americast. Hello, itsjustin in the worldwide headquarters of americast in london, england. I thought wed decided that wasnt funny any more. Its sarah here and im in springfield, ohio. And its marianna, aka misinformation. Also in london, also in what we are still very boringly calling the worldwide headquarters of americast. Ok, its not funny, but were doing it all the same, and theres quite a lot that falls into that category. Anyway, sarah, youre in an interesting place. Explain where you are and why. Well, everyone will remember that springfield, ohio, is where Donald Trump said that haitian migrants were taking peoples pet cats and dogs and using them for food. Completely untrue, totally baseless rumour of which there had been a little bit online but that he used during the president ial debate to try and highlight immigration. And that then brings us to the president ial stuff. And of course, it has been one of the things the Trump Campaign have been saying, is that the rhetoric about trump being a threat is one of the things that have led to people trying to kill him. Were going to be talking in a second to a former Secret Service agent. But first, lets focus on the Secret Service itself and whether its failing, because there is, sarah, a real debate now, isnt there, about, notjust about the Secret Service, but about The Way its funded, about The Way its set up and about who actually is able to get its services . Yeah. People have started to talk about the fact that there clearly are not enough resources with the Secret Service now. Trumps Team Cast Aspersions that he is being deliberately denied extra security. From the white house, Joe Biden says, well, its time for congress to send more money to the Secret Service so that they can do more, because actually, theyre under huge strain because theyre giving full president ial protection to the president , biden, obviously, and just about as much to both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Thats very unusual. And then theres some other figures like Hillary Clinton who get more than normal amounts of protection. So, yeah, so theyre hugely under strain. And theres an economic debate to be had about who should pay for that, which ultimately goes down to congress. But of course, you know, were six weeks away from an election. This is obviously going to get very political, as well. Yeah. And its interesting, isnt it, this business of who gets what level of protection and whether someone who is running for president gets a certain Level And Someone else doesnt. And its crucial in the trump case, we should listen to a clip about this. What if youre a former president and you know that there are a lot of threats against you and then youre running for president . Well, you got to understand, the Golf Course is surrounded by shrubbery. So when somebody gets into the shrubbery, theyre pretty much out of sight. All right . And at this level that he is at right now, hes not the sitting president. If he was, we would have had to hire a Golf Course around it. But because hes not, the security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible. So that was rick bradshaw, whos the Palm Beach County sheriff. Hes talking about, of course, the Golf Course where the second attempt on Trumps Life seemed to be about to happen. There was certainly a man in the bushes with a gun. And sarah, that led then, didnt it, to a whole set of other questions about, well, hang on a second. Why are you making these kind of grades of coverage when there is an obvious threat to this guy . Yeah, and i think this yeah, and i think this is the first time, actually, is the first time, actually, people have ever talked people have ever talked about giving full president ial about giving full president ial levels of security to levels of security to somebody whos a Candidate Somebody whos a candidate or a former president. Or a former president. But youve got to but youve got to look at the threat. Look at the threat. Youll remember, justin, reasons, you know, youll remember, justin, Barack Obama got Secret Service Barack Obama got secret Service Protection much, much earlier protection much, much earlier than a president ial candidate than a president ial candidate would normally because there would normally because there were more threats made against him, because he was were more threats made the first Black Man who looked like he had a chance like he had a chance of becoming president. Of becoming president. Donald trump, for other Donald Trump, for other reasons, you know, has a serious Security Threat against him. So, yeah, people are starting to ask questions about whether he deserves the full monty, so to speak. Yeah, i mean, i rememberwith the obama years, i remember being really shocked. I was a bit naive, i suppose. I went into a Coffee Shop in South Carolina during the primary when obama was against Hillary Clinton. And i was saying to these black women there and i was saying, youre going for obama, youre all supporting him. And they all, to a person, they said no. And they all had kids, they were that kind of age. They were, they had voted in a few elections. I mean, its shocking, obviously, that anybody could get this close to a president ial candidate. I think whats surprising, though, is that its a right Wing Figure like Donald Trump whos being targeted, cos exactly that story you were telling about peoples fears about President Obama illustrates that often it has been perceived that the threat would come from the right to somebody on the left who was challenging the status quo. And in fact, what were looking at here is just quite the opposite. Yeah, and i think thats a really important point, sarah. And i think that actually tells us something really vital to understand about how this kind of rhetoric on Social Media and then this kind of behaviour offline is not limited to one particular political group or people of one political side or another. A lot of this is about being driven towards extreme points on either side. And theres a new series ive got coming out next week, why do you hate me usa, which looks at exactly this. Seamless. How does she do it . Yeah, it looks at exactly this, but also, and i think its important to understand this, the different people that become the targets for this sort of hate, as well. So youve got people being pushed towards the extremes on either side, and then acting on the back of that, trying to actually concretely say, right, this happened because of Social Media and this didnt is sort of impossible, but it appears to play a contributing factor in everything thats happening. And then youve got the different targets of this. So were obviously talking about President S and president ial candidates, but actually, exactly like you said, sarah, about all, you know, the average person, the average school in springfield, ohio. Ive spent some time hanging out with Election Workers in colorado for this new podcast series, as well. You know, people who are like an It Manager who is suddenly like, im being threatened on my way, im being threatened for doing myjob, and i think most people didnt even know what myjob was before, but they believe im complicit in plots to, you know, steal the Election Or Rig the election process. And that tends to be, from what theyve shown me and what ive seen, hate and threats coming from people who support Donald Trump and believe the election was stolen. But then youve now got people who are on the left who believe, for example, trump staged the assassination attempt. Oh, yeah, i met one the other day and she listens to the podcast. Oh, well, there you go. Yeah, i mean, she listens to the podcast. Perfectly reasonable woman. Very reasonable woman. Id better say that, hadnt i . Cos shes probably listening to this. But she, she, she. I mean, she didnt exactly say the whole thing is made up, but she said she had questions about it. And that goes to sarahs point, doesnt it, that actually theres a kind of, among a lot of left wing americans who, lets be blunt about it, kind of think of themselves as rather wonderful people. Theres, theres, theres this, you know, how could it possibly be us . How could it be us . Why . I think theyre quite surprised, actually, at the whole thing. The idea that trump is being, is being targeted. Actually rather annoying for them because hes not your obvious victim. Absolutely, and i talked to people even just coming to a place like springfield, ohio, and talking about the atmosphere around the election and not even specific to the story here. There is a genuine fear among lots of people that someone is going to get killed before election day, that there will at least be another attempt, whether against Donald Trump or his opponents. Cos you have to wonder what these attempts on Donald Trumps life are doing to the very people mariannas describing, who probably believe him that these attempts on his life are being inspired byJoe Biden and Kamala Harris. There is an incendiary atmosphere around here that feels really quite dangerous, to be perfectly honest, and the threat of political violence has never felt more real. Right. On that rather depressing note, i think youve got to go, havent you, marianna . I do, i do. Ive tried really hard, by The Way, americast, not to make thisjoke, because its not a very. Its not a very funny topic. However, i should just say to you that justin is dressed like hes a member of the Secret Service for this podcast record, including with our little earpieces in and in his suit. So, it feels like me and sarah didnt quite get the memo. Im wearing a suit because i have to go to an undisclosed location to do an undisclosed thing after the podcast, and ive got a very nice Silver Case to go with it that looks as if it should have the nuclear codes in it, but actually has a toothbrush. I dont think well start Dressing Thematically for every episode, but im glad you have today. Bye. Thanks, guys. Bye. Bye, marianna. Bye. Delighted to say we have on the line bill gage, who joined the Secret Service quite a long time ago, back in 2002. Hes provided a lot of protection to President S, to vice President S, to foreign dignitaries, as well, because, of course, its a Widerjob Thanjust the president or people vying to be president. He was on the Counter Assault team, as well. Protection for George W Bush after the iraq war, when there were a lot of terror threats, of course, against the united states and against, personally against George W Bush. But also Barack Obama, also, as weve already been talking about, the potential target of racially motivated attacks. Bill, you are exactly the right person to talk to. What an extraordinary Career Youve had. Uh, im a pretty humble guy. Youre embarrassing me there a little bit. But, um, yeah, i mean, it is what it is. I, uh, great experience. The Secret Service is an incredible job. You know, it takes a toll on your personal life. Youre gone 150, 200 days a year sometimes. And you live by Somebody Elses schedule. But an amazing experience. I got to see and do things that, you know, you either dream about as a kid or you see in movies. And you spend a lot of time. Youre describing the schedule of a broadcastjournalist trying to cover an election campaign, thats for sure. 0k. We want to try and get into all of your experience, obviously, and learn what we can about the Secret Service. Butjust in headline terms, to start with, when you heard that somebody had. Well, a bullet had grazed former President Trump at a rally, and then this week also heard that Somebody Else had got close to him with a rifle, what was your first reaction . Well, you know, if we dont mind, well break down both attempts, because the first attempt, i was doing what. You know, iwasjust, it was kind of an off day for me and my family, just kind of hanging out around our house. And a friend texted me and said, turn the news on. And i turned the news on, and it had just happened within a couple of minutes. And i turned to my wife and i said, how could somebody have got a firearm into the event . Because i assumed it was someone in the crowd. And the Secret Service is divided up into two sort of sections, if you will. Theres the Uniform Division and then the Special Agent side, and the Uniform Division provides security around the white house, the sort of physical security for the white house. But they also sort of man or theyre responsible for the magnetometers at all of these events, thats physically screen people before coming into the event. And these are some of the most sensitive magnetometers in the world. These uniformed Division Officers are the most highly trained, probably in the world. I mean, can pick up metal shavings in your pocket, theyre so sensitive. And so, when i saw that, i turned to my wife and i said, somebody must have had like an ai, you know, printed gun, a Wood Gun or something youd see in a movie for an assassin, because theres no way you could get a gun past the magnetometers. And early on, you know, just knowing what i know, i made some sort of professional guesses there, that there was some real miscommunication between the local Police Officers and the secret Service Advance Team about who was covering that specific building and the areas of responsibility. And so thats what, um, in my opinion, really, that and so thats what, in my opinion, really, that first attempt is going to. I think thats what the reports that are coming out are going to show, is that there was some real miscommunication. And its not what you see on tv, 0k . So its know, perfect world, the service would have put 1,000 agents in butler, pennsylvania, with 100 Counter Sniper teams, and everybody has a Dna Sample on file that the Secret Service has screened. They know everything about everybody in the crowd. Agents have these google glasses, lens glasses, that facial Recognition Software thats tied into drones with missiles. Thatsjust not the reality of protection. Its not like you see in the movies. Im really interested by that because i want it to be more like in the movies. Or maybe i dont because of the Freedom Aspect of it. But how high tech is it . You talked about the metal detectors, and obviously there are a lot of very highly armed people around the president or a president ial candidate. But does it go any further than that . Well, there are a lot of what we would call classified here in the united states. The Secret Service has a lot of classified assets that they do use at these events. But just to circle back and answer your question there, a lot of it is low tech. Its just agents on the ground using their critical Judgment And Reasoning and theirtraining, putting together these protective models that the Secret Service has used for decades that have been really successful. And so its kind of a combination of tech and just kind of good old fashioned what we call here in america gumshoe, you know, just agents walking around doing theirjob. So its a combination of both. But what about online gumshoe, as it were . I mean, are you really aware, are agents really aware, is the service really aware of what people are, how theyre interacting online, and kind of potential threats that seem to be obvious from peoples Social Media profiles . Or is it, i mean, is thatjust a crazy thing to ask because there are so many people spewing such a lot of hate that you wouldnt know where to start . No, no, you know, listen, the Secret Service, you guys, ijust feel like your Law Enforcement and intelligence agencies are Leaps And Bounds ahead, technology wise, than i feel like we are. And thats what exactly what i was going