REPORT: Trump to Maintain His Own ‘Robust Private Security Force’ in White House

Security Force Chief Acts as Advisor on Many Matters and ‘Decides Who Gets Through to the Boss’ 

While most Americans were under the impression that the U.S. Secret Service and local law enforcement were the only security the president-elect and presidents rely upon, Donald Trump as is his norm has bucked that long-established pattern, employing his own “robust private security force,” according to a report at Politico.

Trump, in addition to allowing the Secret Service and local law enforcement personnel to protect him, has no plans to terminate his arrangement with his personal security detail, an unprecedented act that is expected to cause confusion and challenges for the Secret Service. 

The head of Trump’s personal security force is “Keith Schiller, a retired New York City cop and Navy veteran who started working for Trump in 1999 as a part-time bodyguard, eventually rising to become his head of security,” in 2004, Politico reports. Schiller no longer serves in just that capacity, but advises the president-elect on a wide variety of issues, and is seen as a gatekeeper, who determines who is allowed to talk with the president-elect.

“When people want to reach Trump, they often call Schiller’s cellphone and he decides who gets through to the boss,” says Politico.

“Photos often show Schiller looming over Trump’s shoulder as he works crowds, standing sentry by the stage as Trump speaks, or ejecting protesters from rallies,” Politico adds. “He’s developed a small but avid fan base on Twitter, where Trump supporters cheer Schiller’s confrontations with protesters, pose for selfies with him at events and backstage, and praise him as a brave ‘American Eagle‘ who kept Trump ‘safe & sound.'”

“And Schiller, a registered Republican, showed signs of reveling in Trump’s campaign, creating his own Twitter account just before the first primaries to promote the campaign and chronicle his unique perspective from the trail. He occasionally channeled his boss’ attacks on rivals like Ted Cruz (“Wow Lyin Ted is becoming unhinged! So sad…,” he tweeted as Trump was clinching the GOP nomination over the Texas senator) and spread false claims about Democrats, including that 20 percent of Clinton’s campaign cash came from people who were responsible for the September 2001 terrorist attacks, that a grand jury had been convened to investigate her use of a private email server for State Department business and that Obama encouraged undocumented immigrants to vote illegally.”

 

“Keith is kind of a consigliere,” a transition team official told Politico. “He knows all the players, all the properties. He has the confidence of Trump and of the family. To describe him as a body guy would be very, very beneath the role that he actually plays.”

Some responses via Twitter: 

  

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