President Donald Trump says he will revoke Hunter Biden‘s security detail following reports the former first son traveled to South Africa with a large Secret Service team.
“Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Trump also said he’s revoking the security detail for Ashley Biden, former President Joe Biden’s youngest child, which Trump said consisted of 13 agents.
The news comes less than three hours after Trump was first alerted about Hunter Biden’s security team.
“If there are 18 [Secret Service agents] with Hunter Biden, that will be something I look at this afternoon,” Trump said Monday afternoon at the Kennedy Center. “I just heard about it for the first time.”
A reporter told Trump that 18 agents protected the former president’s son during an extended trip to South Africa. That news emerged only a few days after Hunter Biden said he’d racked up “significant debt in the millions of dollars range” after watching his art sales dry up.
The New York Post reported that Hunter Biden stayed in a beachfront villa described as “ultra-luxurious” during the jaunt.
“That’s really interesting,” Trump said when told about the situation. “All right, I’m going to take a look at that.”
In revoking Hunter Biden’s security, he called the 18-person detail “ridiculous.”
Trump also seemed incensed that Hunter Biden chose to visit South Africa, a country Trump has sanctioned over its treatment of the white Afrikaner minority. Trump has ordered that the U.S. withhold all aid to South Africa until it changes its policies.
The president has made a habit of revoking taxpayer-funded security of former officials who get on his bad side, and Hunter Biden will now find himself flying solo or paying out of pocket for bodyguards.
Trump previously revoked the security detail for Dr. Anthony Fauci, former national security adviser John Bolton, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The president also yanked security clearances for the former intelligence officials who attempted to discredit the authenticity of the Hunter Biden laptop ahead of the 2020 election.
