Trump supporters cheered when we saw that the former president had survived the assassination attempt and pumped his fist in defiance and heroic resolve. We mourned the death of Corey Comperatore who died heroically protecting his family from harm, and we prayed for David Dutch and James Copenhaver who were seriously wounded by the assassin’s bullets.

In the days afterwards, we’ve been overwhelmed with the tumult surrounding the Secret Service’s epic and compounded failures in securing the rally site and allowing an unsophisticated, untrained assassin to gain a vantage point only 150 yards from the President’s podium. The media have been bursting with interviews of congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle, security specialists, and attendees at the rally who saw the shooter before the Secret Service or police did, and even took videos of him climbing into position on that roof. Everyone was thankful the tragedy was over.

At the risk of throwing cold water on our collective sense of relief, I must ask the obvious question: what are the chances there will be another attempt on President Trump’s life in the remaining months before the election? At this point, I must think it’s possible and even likely.

With the depth and vitriol of Trump Derangement Syndrome, there are many out there who ardently believe the Democrats’ repeated declarations that Donald Trump is an ‘existential threat to Democracy,’ as well as the ‘second coming of Adolf Hitler.’  You don’t have to look any farther than ABC’s ‘The View’ to find them. Among the millions gripped by this warped and hateful belief, it’s probable that there are some unstable personalities who very likely believe that killing the former President would be a great service to America and the world. It would not surprise me to learn that there are individuals of questionable mental stability who view Thomas Crooks as a martyr and are dismayed by his failure.

As of now, we don’t know what motivated Thomas Crooks to try to assassinate President Trump. It’s very puzzling that neither the FBI nor the Secret Service have come forth with any definitive information on his background. It’s the kind of thing that lends itself to conspiracy theories. What we do know is that the Secret Service is recommending that President Trump stop holding outdoor rallies. Not only is this a feeble attempt to lay off some of the blame for the recent assassination attempt on the Trump campaign, but it’s also signaling that the Secret Service expects there might be more attempts on Donald Trump’s life. And to conspiracy theorists, it will be seen as a dog whistle, inviting those attempts.

I suspect that Donald Trump has no intention of canceling his outdoor rallies. He’s not a man to be governed by fear. Nor should he be. It is the responsibility of the Secret Service to provide their protectees with the highest level of security and safety. They failed miserably last time. It’s now incumbent upon them to identify and prevent those failings again; to not use excuses like asking the Trump campaign to stop holding outdoor rallies. Donald Trump’s mission is to campaign successfully for the Presidency of the United States. It’s not to make the Secret Service’s job easier.

Eric Dawe is an award-winning writer, chess enthusiast, and the author of two historical fiction novels based on Virgil’s The Aeneid: Aeneas, Last King of Troy and Aeneas, Landfall of Legend.

Image: Executive Office of the President of the United States