Trump takes no chances in armored golf buggy as protesters storm streets
www.themirror.com
Photographers have noticed. a new security support system for US President Donald Trump - an armored golf cart, so he can play a round peacefully

The buggy wasn’t driven by Trump, but is thought to be his “getaway vehicle” should anyone open fire on the course. The black, obviously armored vehicle followed Trump around as he played golf, with many experts noting that it bore similarities to “The Beast” — Trump’s protective vehicle stateside.

  • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
    822·
    2 days ago

    That’s probably less armor than he has around him in the official limo when he’s here.

    I’d guess that there are more people with anti-materiel rifles over here.

    EDIT: Oh, according to the article, that’s just some sort of evacuation vehicle for if he does come under attack. Apparently he’s in a regular golf cart.

    IIRC he wasn’t in an armored vehicle when we had that sniper try to take him out when he was golfing here, so maybe the amount of armor is none in both cases.

    EDIT2: I don’t know who the last President is where we haven’t had at least one known incident where someone, usually us, tried to kill him. Probably quite a few years back.

    kagis

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_assassination_attempts_and_plots

    Going off a quick skim of that list:

    • Trump: 11 incidents so far, with him being hit in the ear at one point.

    • Biden: 2

    • Obama: 11

    • Bush Jr: 2

    • Clinton: 5

    • Bush Sr: 1

    • Reagan: Only 1, though in that incident he was hit by a riccochet and the bullet stopped just short of his heart.

    • Carter doesn’t have any incidents, so I guess the last time we elected someone and then didn’t try to kill them was the 1970s. Though this sounds kind of sketchy, and I dunno if maybe it should count as an attempt:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Lee_Harvey

    EDIT3: https://www.reddit.com/r/greenberets/comments/v28lsk/what_is_the_average_casualty_rate_as_a_green_beret/

    What is the average casualty rate as a green beret?

    17 combat deaths per year divided by 7,000 active green berets per year is a fatality rate of approximately 0.24% per year

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_assassination_attempts_and_plots

    Four sitting U.S. presidents have been killed: Abraham Lincoln (1865), James A. Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901), and John F. Kennedy (1963).

    From 1789 to 2025, we’ve had 236 years as a country led by a President, so about 1.70% annual mortality rate for Presidents. Going by those numbers, it’s a little more than seven times as lethal to be President as to be Army special forces.

    EDIT4: Though the Netherlands has a higher rate of cannibalism of their national leaders.

      • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
        15·
        2 days ago

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_state_car_(United_States)

        The 2009 presidential state car model had night vision optics, a tear gas cannon, onboard oxygen tanks, an armored fuel tank filled with foam to prevent explosion, and pump-action shotguns.[1][26] Whether it was[29] or was not armed with rocket-propelled grenades,[26] the car featured eight-inch (200 mm) doors.[10]

        In addition to defensive measures designed to protect the president, this state car has stores of blood in the president’s type for medical emergencies. The car is hermetically sealed against chemical attacks, and features run-flat tires, night-vision devices, smoke screens, and oil slicks as defensive measures against attackers. NBC reported that the car features armor made of aluminum, ceramic, and steel; the exterior walls have a thickness of eight inches (200 mm), the windows are multi-layered and five inches (130 mm) thick, and each door[32]—believed to be one foot (0.30 m) thick[37] and weigh as much as those on a Boeing 757—can electrify its handles to deter entry.[32]

        https://spyscape.com/article/7-top-secrets-about-the-beast-presidential-limo

        There are at least two identical Beasts with matching registration plates in every motorcade so attackers can’t be 100% certain which vehicle contains the president and which is the decoy. During President Joe Biden’s inauguration, there were actually seven Beasts deployed in the mother of all motorcades.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Service_Counter_Assault_Team

        “Hawkeye” is the designation for a CAT assigned to the president, followed by the president’s Secret Service code name

        CAT operates both as part of motorcades and at fixed sites. In the event a VIP, the VIP’s vehicle, or a protected site is attacked by multiple assailants, CAT is responsible for engaging and diverting the attackers, thereby buying the close protection shift time to evacuate the dignitary to a safe area.[9]

        Hawkeye, when operating as part of a U.S. president’s motorcade, travels in a vehicle several car lengths behind the presidential state car.[11]

        A pop-up Gatling gun that comes out of a roof turret on one of the support vehicles:

        https://www.guns.com/news/2011/07/16/the-dillon-m134d-gatling-gun-the-secret-services-secret-weapon

        The Dillon M134D Gatling Gun: The Presidential Motorcade’s Secret Weapon

        No doubt other stuff that isn’t made public.

        They have closed airspace around him and they have fighter jets that will come investigate aircraft getting close.

        https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/restricted-airspace-0

        In the case of Presidential movement, the TFR is usually comprised of an outer ring (usually 30 nautical miles, but sometimes slightly more or less) and one or more inner rings (usually 10 nautical miles, but sometimes 8, 9, or 10 nautical miles). The dimensions and, even the shape, of the rings are sometimes altered to suit specific needs. For example, some TFRs are structured so that the outer ring consists of the lateral limits of a particular airport’s Class B airspace, or are created with cut-outs, as noted later in this resource.

        I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if, especially in this era of easy accessibility to drones, if they’re also carrying some sort of surface-to-air weaponry, though I don’t think I’ve ever read anything about it. They have electronic warfare vehicles in the convoy, though as can be seen in Ukraine, where Russia and Ukraine are both using drones that unspool fiber optic cable behind them as they fly to defeat jamming, jamming is not, alone, a full counter to drones.

          • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
            7·
            2 days ago

            Air Force One does. I dunno about the ground motorcade, though.

            And I’m sure that the E-4 does too.

            kagis

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_E-4

            The Boeing E-4 Advanced Airborne Command Post (AACP), the current “Nightwatch” aircraft,[2] is a series of strategic command and control military aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). The E-4 series are specially modified from the Boeing 747-200B for the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) program.[3]

            The E-4 serves as a survivable mobile command post for the National Command Authority, namely the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, and successors. The four E-4s are operated by the 1st Airborne Command and Control Squadron of the 595th Command and Control Group located at Offutt Air Force Base, near Omaha, Nebraska. An E-4 when in action is denoted a “National Airborne Operations Center” (NAOC) and has been nicknamed the “Doomsday plane”.[4]

            When the President travels outside of North America using a VC-25A as Air Force One, an E-4B will deploy to a second airport in the vicinity of the President’s destination, to be readily available in the event of a world crisis or an emergency that renders the VC-25A unusable.[citation needed] When President Barack Obama visited Honolulu, Hawaii, an E-4B was often stationed 200 miles away at Hilo International Airport on Hawaii Island.[28][29]

        • Rose@slrpnk.netEnglish
          41·
          2 days ago

          Instead of using this new pathetic armoured golf cart, maybe Trump should use one of these cars as a golf cart.

          It’d sink in a water hazard.

          But he has multiple of them. So just use a spare!

          It’d get graffitied, set on fire by protestors, and then sunk into a water hazard.

          But luckily there’s many more of them available! So pick another spare.

          And would you look at that, now he has the strongest golf cart money can buy!

      • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
        9·
        2 days ago

        Going by the article, it’s just a freak coincidence.

        The names “Lee Harvey” and “Osvaldo” (Osvaldo is the Spanish equivalent to “Oswald”) drew comparisons to Lee Harvey Oswald, who was suspected of having assassinated President John F. Kennedy. This led some to believe that the incident was set up to scare Carter into submission.[7][8]

        EDIT: To be clear, I haven’t heard about that incident prior to this, haven’t ever read about Carter-era stuff, so I only know what’s in that article. shrugs Maybe the guy changed his name prior to the incident, maybe they only reported claimed names, dunno.