President-elect Donald Trump pulled off an incredible comeback last month when he won the popular vote and secured 312 Electoral College votes.

Yet while Trump is scheduled to take his oath of office on January 20, one Secret Service whistleblower worries that he could be assassinated before then. 

Former agent: Secret Service has "dropped the ball"

According to the Daily Caller, that concern was raised on Thursday by Richard Staropoli, a former Secret Service agent who went on to serve as Chief Information Officer for the Department of Homeland Security in Trump's first administration.

"I'm not highly confident at all," Staropoli was quoted as saying of the president-elect's safety during an interview with Fox News' "America Reports."

Ex-Secret Service agent Richard Staropoli warns Trump could face major attack before taking office: "I don’t think I’d be alone in saying that I certainly can see something happening between now and inauguration day. And it’s not going to be some 20-year-old kid on the roof of a… pic.twitter.com/ZrONGIOXHp

— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) December 5, 2024

"The Secret Service that you see out there today is not the Secret Service of yesteryear. Somewhere along the line they've completely dropped the ball," Starapoli complained.

"You need to get back to the basics"

He went on to reference a contentious appearance by Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe before the House's Task Force on Trump Assassination Attempts.

"That testimony that you saw today was purely a smokescreen to cover up the shortcomings of a politically compromised agency. It should never have gotten to that point," Starapoli insisted.

"This whole talk about all these drones and these UAVs, hey, that's all great, but you need to get back to the basics," the former agent declared.

"What made the Secret Service great was its ability to put human intelligence, manpower on the streets and effectively secure the environment to make it safe for the president of the United States. I don't see that here," he asserted.

Starapoli says Secret Service isn't "equipped to handle" another attack

"As a matter of fact, I don’t think I’d be alone in saying that I certainly can see something happening between now and inauguration day," Starapoli continued.

"And it’s not going to be some 20-year-old kid on the roof of a building that’s allowed to get within 100 yards," he predicted.

Starapoli concluded by saying, "It's going to be something of a much bigger magnitude and I don’t think the Secret Service is anywhere equipped to handle that situation."

The Daily Caller noted that Trump has faced two assignation attempts over the past year. The first took place at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania while the second played out on Trump's golf course in Florida.