John Nance Garner once observed -- from personal experience -- that the office of Vice President wasn't worth a "bucket of warm spit." (Reportedly, Garner used a different noun at the end of that quote.) That has changed somewhat in recent decades. It at least gets you a decent book contract, not to mention a nice pension and a few months of security protection, and the two may go together nicely for a promotional tour.
It's the "few months" that are at issue, however. Normally, former presidents get Secret Service protection for life, paid by taxpayers, although they can opt out of it. Former VPs only get six months of Secret Service protection after leaving office, unless presidents act to extend it. And that brings us to today, when the media freaked out over Trump treating Kamala Harris like any other VP despite the machinations of the Joe Biden Regency:
BREAKING: President Trump has revoked former Vice President Kamala Harris' U.S. Secret Service protection, a senior White House official confirmed to CBS News. https://t.co/4zSLeclsDm pic.twitter.com/16Uor9lTVq
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 29, 2025
BREAKING: President Trump has revoked Secret Service protection for former Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a copy of a letter reviewed by @ABC News.
— ABC News (@ABC) August 29, 2025
Read more: https://t.co/lu2VVn3s0r pic.twitter.com/UYQOANokf3
Donald Trump cancels Secret Service protection for Kamala Harris arranged by Joe Biden, adviser says https://t.co/29LFKzjcU9
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) August 29, 2025
BREAKING: President Trump revokes Secret Service protection for former VP Kamala Harris, a senior Harris adviser says. https://t.co/xvBXqUKU5C
— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 29, 2025
None of these headlines gave any hint to the context of this decision. It appeared to be an arbitrary act by a political opponent looking for a cheap shot at retribution. Only the headline from the Associated Press offered a hint of the actual issue involved:
BREAKING: President Trump revokes Secret Service protection for former Vice President Harris after Biden quietly extended it, AP sources say. https://t.co/DX9v5VB9x7
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 29, 2025
The "quietly extended it" part is the real news story here:
Former vice presidents typically get federal government protection for six months after leaving office, while ex-presidents do so for life. But another person familiar with the matter says then-President Joe Biden quietly signed a directive that had extended protection for Harris beyond the traditional six months. ...
A senior Trump administration official said an executive memorandum was issued Thursday to the Department of Homeland Security ending Harris’ security detail and security services. Those had been extended from six to 18 months by the Biden administration, so they would have ended in July 2026, but now they will be terminated on Monday.
So the actual story is that the Biden administration gave Harris a stealth extension of taxpayer-funded benefits to which she was not entitled. If Congress wants to extend those benefits for former VPs, then let Congress propose and pass those into statute as amendments to the pension system for former presidents and VPs. Otherwise, Harris is no longer a public servant, and she can use her own resources for personal protection rather than sponge off the taxpayers. Trump simply canceled the illegitimate extension and restored the normal post-office benefit limitations to which all VPs are subject.
The Protection Racket Media clearly wants to push another narrative. They want to paint Trump as a revenge-driven authoritarian using his authority to punish his political opponents, oddly enough after spending four years missing the real authoritarians in the White House actually doing that to Trump and his allies. If they wanted to do their jobs as reporters, they'd be asking questions as to why Biden -- or whoever ran the autopen -- expanded those benefits in the first place. The PRM's mission isn't to report as much as it is to amplify progressive-elite propaganda messaging. And that's exactly what they attempted this morning. Again.
Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
Help us continue to expose their left-wing bias by reading news you can trust. Join Hot Air VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member