On Sunday, Axios’ Johnathan Swan reported that the U.S. Secret Service had to step in to protect White House chief of staff, John Kelly at a function in Beijing, China, last November. The incident occurred during President Trump’s state visit to the communist nation.
According to Swan, the Chinese prevented a military aide carrying Trump’s nuclear forces-command case (“the football”) from entering the Great Hall of the People. When notified of what was happening, John Kelly apparently moved to escort the military officer inside the building. At this point, a Chinese official grabbed Kelly and the two men briefly pushed each other before a Secret Service agent wrestled the Chinese official to the floor.
The head of the Chinese security detail assigned to Trump then apologized.
But why, at such an important diplomatic event, did Kelly and the Secret Service respond as they did? Two reasons.
First off, it is of utmost national security concern that the president be kept near the football at all times. This is so that the president can rapidly order a U.S. nuclear counter-strike in the event of a surprise nuclear attack. Imagine, for example, if Russia launched a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the U.S. homeland. If the football aide was isolated from the president for even two minutes, that could make the difference between tens of millions of dead Americans and credible retaliation.
Or what if the football carrier was isolated or missing in the event of an attack? If Trump were abroad, for reasons of command authentication, he would have to use Air Force One’s command center. How long would it take to get him there?
The issue here was not that the Chinese might attempt to steal the football and then launch their own nuclear attack against the U.S. — if they tried that, Vice President Pence would assume immediate nuclear command authority — but rather that Trump be able to effectively protect the nation.
This is why the protocol of presidential-to-football proximity is about as unyielding as any White House rule. This is especially true when the president is traveling abroad, in that foreign adversaries might believe the president’s absence from a structural command facility would give them a first strike advantage.
For these reasons, Kelly was right to take drastic action.
But that’s only half the story. Why did the Secret Service agent wrestle the Chinese official to the ground?
The answer here is simpler. Namely, when the Chinese official grabbed Kelly, that official committed what the Secret Service calls an “AOP” or “attack on the principal.” At that point, the Secret Service would have responded immediately to protect Kelly from coming to any harm. We’ve seen this on repeated occasions when individuals use physical force or obstruction against the Secret Service while it is performing its protective duties. The results, as the videos below show, are very rarely in the offending party’s favor.
Note USSS Agent jerking backwards – suggests he was pushed – suggests we should wait for facts. https://t.co/luX19cIPeT
— Tom Rogan (@TomRtweets) February 29, 2016
Contrary to what most in the media said at the time, the Secret Service agent in this video was absolutely justified in his action.
