Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders need Secret Service protection after a “genuinely scary” moment when protesters disrupted the former vice president’s speech.
Gibbs, who was President Barack Obama’s press secretary from 2009 to 2011, said Tuesday night on MSNBC that the two leading candidates vying to beat President Trump should be afforded the security. The remarks came after two protesters shouting “Let dairy die!” stormed the stage as Biden spoke after his Super Tuesday victories.
“I hope a conversation happens in Washington tomorrow. Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden need Secret Service protection,” Gibbs said. “What happened tonight was nothing short of genuinely scary.”
“Those two candidates are the likely Democratic nominee. They should have Secret Service protection in the next 24 to 48 hours,” he added.
MSNBC host Brian Williams agreed with the assessment and said he also thought the two should receive extra security.
The protest came during Biden’s speech at a campaign event in Los Angeles. He won the majority of Tuesday’s 14 states and one U.S. territory in play. There have been a number of protests during campaign events during the primaries. Topless dairy industry protesters also interrupted a Sanders campaign event in Nevada last month.
