Trump ends Secret Service protections for Joe Biden’s kids, adding to unnerving pattern

 Asked by a reporter if he’d feel partially responsible if something awful were to happen to any of these former officials, Trump said he would not, adding, “Certainly, I would not take responsibility.”

Soon after, Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Tom Cotton of Arkansas publicly urged the president to rethink his approach.

He did not rethink his approach.

Last month, as his revenge tour continued, Trump also pulled the security detail for his former Defense secretary, Mark Esper. This week, as NBC News reported, the list grew:

Oddly enough, these developments unfolded with remarkable speed. Roughly three hours before the Republican announced his decision by way of his social media platform, someone asked the president at a press Q&A, “There were 18 Secret Service agents protecting Hunter Biden in South Africa this weekend. Who’s paying for that, and do you plan to revoke his Secret Service protections?”

Trump, who apparently hadn’t heard anything about this, thanked the person for bringing this to his attention and vowed to look into the matter “this afternoon.”

Evidently, he meant it.

For the record, there is no modern precedent for an American president effectively wielding security details as a political tool, stripping protections from those he deems unworthy. It’s one of the many ways Trump is breaking new ground.