Seeking Answers and Healing

Straight Talk with Sam

Last Saturday, we all watched as a deranged individual came within inches of taking the life of President Trump. If it weren't for the grace of God, I would be writing a very different message to you all today.

In the immediate aftermath, I had hoped that every American would share the same concern for the President's life, the well-being of his family, and the health and safety of the other innocent Americans who were killed or injured. In the days that have followed, I've been deeply disappointed that this wasn't the case.

I have heard and seen a disturbing number of comments about how they wished the shooter had "better aim" or a "better scope." These types of comments are downright un-American. To paraphrase the current President, we don't settle our political disputes with bullets; we settle our differences with ballots.

More than that, comments like this-jokes or otherwise-fail to recognize that President Trump isn't just a leader; he's a person too-with a wife, children, family, and friends who love him dearly. No matter your political opinions and differences, it's never acceptable to wish harm or death on your fellow Americans, and certainly not in a time like this. How did we ever lose sight of that?

Rather than wishing ill will on our political opponents, Americans should be united in getting to the bottom of this and having a full, transparent investigation into the security failures that allowed this to happen in the first place. The details we already know are plenty concerning. There's no way this individual should have been able to get so close to President Trump and be allowed to get a clear shot at the President.

With limited information, it's hard to pinpoint where every security failure happened. That's why we need a complete and transparent investigation into these failures. Congress is working on that as we speak.

In the meantime, one thing is clear: the buck stops at the top. U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has so profoundly failed to fulfill her most important duty that Americans can no longer trust her to lead the agency. For the good of the country, Director Cheatle needs to step down, fully comply with these investigations, and help our nation heal and move forward.

Sincerely,

Sam Graves