# Is the Secret Service too broken to protect Trump?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/if-you-re-listening-232515/is-the-secret-service-too-broken-to-protect-trump
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/if-you-re-listening-232515/is-the-secret-service-too-broken-to-protect-trump.md
Podcast: [If You're Listening](https://stenobird.com/podcast/if-you-re-listening-232515)
Published: 2026-08-19T15:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/if-youre-listening/is-the-secret-service-too-broken-to-protect-trump/107055126
Audio file: https://mediacore-live-production.akamaized.net/audio/02/nl/Z/fd.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/if-you-re-listening-232515/episodes/is-the-secret-service-too-broken-to-protect-trump
Duration seconds: 1640

## Resource

The Secret Service was created to hunt counterfeit money, and only started guarding presidents after three assassinations forced Congress's hand in 1901. More than a century later, agents still split their careers between protecting the President and investigating fake twenties. The agency is understaffed by over 20 percent, and burnt-out staff are hitting mandated overtime pay caps by the thousands. It's already led to scandal, security lapses, and a botched response to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the threats are multiplying and becoming even more complex; domestic militia plots and foreign intelligence operatives are becoming more common. So can an agency stretched this thin actually keep up? Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app . Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

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## Transcript

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