Opinion | My prayer for the protectors who rushed to Donald Trump’s aid

That is not my intention with this article.

I believe the Secret Service that Trump is fine despite Saturday’s events. But I cannot join in the rush to find out the who, what, where, when and how of this disgusting event. At least not now.

What will stay with me for the rest of my life is what happened immediately on the stage when shots were heard and Trump put his hand to his right ear.

I wasn’t on that stage, but I could have been in that situation.

Think of the anonymous men and women who rushed to Trump’s aid.

In another career and with another federal agency, I was one of them. I was trained to do what they were trained to do. Protection and security was not my primary responsibility as a State Department special agent. I have performed many activities here and abroad to protect U.S. national security interests. One of those was when I was called upon to serve in a protection and security detail.

Nothing during my time at the State Department, nor anything in my long and varied career thereafter, came close to those sobering moments when I strapped on a gun as a member of a security unit.

I don’t have to bore you with training, times on the range, or stories about what did or didn’t happen to prevent disaster.

One thing I do know: The armed men and women in dark suits who rushed to the stage as Trump fell were experiencing one of the worst moments of their lives. They failed, perhaps through no fault of their own, to protect the person they were sworn to defend from all harm and danger.

Oh, we praise the “first responders” – those women and men who rush to crime scenes, climb ladders, stop bleeding, and rescue frightened children and cats driven up trees.

I wasn’t trained to do that. And neither were the agents who rushed to Trump as he lay on the ground today.

Their job was not to ward off the danger, but to stand between the source of the danger and Donald Trump.

The agents rushed not only to check on Trump’s condition, but also to put themselves between themselves and the shots fired at the former president. The agents, like countless other men and women who protect public leaders across the country, had vowed to take the bullet.

Some viewers like to make fun of those who slink in and around public offices with frowning and nervous demeanor. Next time, take a closer look at these men and women who stand so alert.

Their lives are at stake.

During my short time as a security guard, my nerves were frayed when I thought about what the next day would bring. Maybe I would have to take the bullet. And back then, we didn’t wear protective gear. Just guns and handcuffs.

Think about the agents who immediately surrounded Trump with their own bodies. What that meant. Who they are.

When I saw this, I had to cry.