Secret Service director reports 40% surge in threats to presidency

Secret Service leadership detailed the “massive increase” in threats against the presidency and agents in the past year during a special joint interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday.

“It’s like we’ve never seen before,” Secret Service Director Sean Curran told host Norah O’Donnell. “The threats on our full-time protectees are up just over 40% than they were last year. That’s a massive increase.”

Curran, along with Deputy Director Matt Quinn, were questioned as to what they believed caused the rise in threats. Curran suggested that the growth of the internet was a factor, but O’Donnell wondered if President Donald Trump also drove the threats.

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“President Trump is one of the most polarizing political figures in American history. Is that in some way leading to the increase in these threats?” O’Donnell asked.

“We are an apolitical organization. We’re here to protect who we’re sworn to protect,” Curran answered.

“Look, I would say there’s people on both sides of the aisle that either love or hate any president. I think the biggest factor we’re dealing with today is mental health issues for sure. And more people are being pushed over the edge in either direction,” Quinn added.

“The world is different than what it was 20 years ago. You know, social media changes people,” Curran said.

The men also did not clarify whether more threats came from left-wing or right-wing sources, explaining that they do not “weigh” threats in that way, citing concerns from both the Jan. 6 Capitol riots and the assassination attempts against Trump.

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Curran revealed there has been a 40% increase in threats against the presidency. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Curran, who was the lead agent protecting Trump during the first assassination attempt against him in 2024, emphasized the importance of preparation. 

O’Donnell later connected this idea to the reports of Trump’s Air Force One plane switch in August.

“Look, that’s not the first time we’ve done that. We wish that wasn’t reported, ’cause that takes some of our tactics away from being able to do something similar again. Certainly wasn’t the first time where we did something like that,” Curran said, though he clarified that he did not say whether they had ever used a decoy plane prior to this incident.

Quinn also defended the procedure which left agents behind in a decoy plane.

“When you’re operating in any protective detail with the President of the United States, for any president, the priority is the president. Everyone else, staff, agents, media, personnel involved are not the priority, including our own personnel. As hard as that may be for some to understand, the mission is to protect the President of the United States,” Quinn said.

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Security around the president has received extra scrutiny since the assassination attempts against President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

This interview came as the Secret Service faces ongoing scrutiny after three officials were placed on leave in August.

Protection for the president has also come under scrutiny as the FBI hesitates to release documents pertaining to the investigation of the assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

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Judicial Watch President Thomas Fitton, whose organization sued the Department of Justice for documents related to the event, criticized the slow process.

“They are telling us that, at current processing rates, the process will take 12 years. Under the FBI’s timeline, we won’t even be able to challenge what they withheld until 12 years from now. That is obviously unacceptable, and I would like to know what leadership at the FBI and DOJ think about that position,” Fitton told Digital.