White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been given taxpayer-funded Secret Service protection after having to – gasp – face criticism at a restaurant in Virginia.
According to NBC News, agents will be dispatched to her home “on a temporary basis,” though no specific timetable for the protection has been released.
NEW: The Secret Service will begin providing security at the home of Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, on a temporary basis, a law enforcement official tells @PeteWilliamsNBC
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) June 26, 2018
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In a separate report, CNN added that the Secret Service could begin providing Sanders protection as early as Wednesday.
Trump officials want protection – from the First Amendment
It’s one thing to demand protection when your safety is at risk. Nobody could fault a person – Democrat or Republican – for that.
But what appears to be the catalyst for this request for Secret Service protection is the fact that Sarah Huckabee Sanders was politely confronted at a restaurant in Virginia over the weekend – and she didn’t like it.
During the incident, the restaurant owner simply voiced her disapproval of what Sanders and the Trump administration are doing to the country, and she was asked to leave.
Now, in order to avoid further instances of Sanders having to face legitimate criticism, the administration is dispatching the Secret Service – all at the taxpayers’ expense.
In other words, Trump officials view your First Amendment right to protest as a danger to them.
Sarah Jones spelled it out perfectly in a tweet a short time ago:
You horrible taxpayers who thought you had the right to use your First Amendment rights to let @presssec know you disapproved of Trump taking your rights away will now pay for Secret Service to protect her from your words.
Cuz democracy.
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) June 27, 2018
At the end of the day, it may make Sarah Huckabee Sanders uncomfortable to face in-person criticism for the indefensible work she and her boss are doing each day, but there are hundreds of kids locked away in cages – and millions of outraged Americans – that couldn’t care less about her hurt feelings.
Instead of trying to dodge dissent and ignore the concerns of the majority of the country, administration officials should work to address them.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
