Former FBI agent: ‘No one should be surprised that Iran wants to kill the president’

Tracy Walder, a former CIA officer and FBI special agent, reacted on Thursday to new reporting of a planned Iranian attack on President Trump’s life.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Israel shared intelligence with the U.S. that reportedly revealed a new attempt from Iran to assassinate Trump amid renewed military operations between the two sides.

“I’m sadly not surprised by this,” Walder told NewsNation. “We know for certain that attempts have been thwarted. There are individuals who have been brought to trial for attempting to do this here in the United States.”

The former agent suggested the intelligence exchange could be part of an effort from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to mend his strained relationship with the U.S. leader amid the conflict.

“The relationship right now between Trump and Netanyahu isn’t great, for lack of a better word,” she continued. “It was a lot stronger earlier on in this war, and so part of me does wonder if this was an opportunity on Netanyahu’s part to sort of bring Trump closer to him and closer into his inner circle, given everything that is going on with the attacks in the Strait of Hormuz right now.”

Trump faced several assassination attempts throughout his 2024 presidential campaign and second term in office. The FBI announced in June that federal authorities thwarted a murder plot on the president and other top officials that was for the UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House lawn on June 14.

“Thanks to the rapid action of this FBI, our partners, and the Department of Justice in a multi-state operation, multiple individuals are now in custody, and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media statement.

On Thursday, eight men were indicted on federal charges tied to their alleged involvement in the plot. Federal prosecutors seek to charge the defendants for conspiracy to murder and to provide material support to terrorists.

Trump told reporters at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday that he is “No. 1 on the kill list for Iran.”

“I’m their No. 1 target because they’re scum,” he added.

Additionally, the president raised security concerns after he opted to travel back on the old Air Force One plane instead of the new model gifted by Qatar.

The White House downplayed the significance of the decision, saying the Secret Service changed the plans due to an abundance of caution. The president said the swap was made to allow the new plane to travel to an air base in the U.K. for troops to view.

The New York Times White House reporter Maggie Haberman cast doubt on the president’s explanation for the change, calling it “a little hard to believe” in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday.

Haberman said the decision “does raise questions” about “how equipped” the Qatari model is with appropriate defense systems. The U.S. Air Force said it spent less than $400 million on security upgrades for the plane.

“My question is — despite the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars that were already spent to retrofit this plane for security — what remains?” she asked.

Former FBI agent: ‘No one should be surprised that Iran wants to kill the president’

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