Former Obama press secretary urges Secret Service protection for Sanders, Biden

The former press secretary for President Obama on Wednesday called for the Secret Service to protect Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden after protesters rushed Biden’s stage Tuesday night.

Robert Gibbs said he thinks that the government needs to discuss how to provide the two top contenders for the Democratic nomination with Secret Service protection.

“Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden need secret service protection,” he said. “What happened tonight was nothing short of genuinely scary.”

“They should have secret service protection in the next 24 to 48 hours,” Gibbs added.

Fmr. Obama Press Sec. Robert Gibbs: “Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden need Secret Service protection. What happened tonight was nothing short of genuinely scary.” pic.twitter.com/KUkl5FP3wp

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 4, 2020

After big wins in Super Tuesday primaries, Biden’s speech at a rally was interrupted when anti-dairy protesters stormed the stage, coming in close range of the former vice president before being carried off. The scene prompted discussions about security concerns for the candidates. Biden campaign aide Symone Sanders took one of the protesters off the stage.

The group Direct Action Everywhere, which opposes the dairy industry, also disrupted one of Sanders’s campaign rallies last month in Nevada, with some of the protesters being topless.

The protesters came to the Super Tuesday rally as the former vice president celebrated winning states like Alabama, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Virginia. Biden is also projected to win Texas and Tennessee.

Sanders is projected to win the big prize of Super Tuesday, California, in addition to Vermont, Colorado and Utah. Maine is still too close to call. The two candidates remain neck and neck for the nomination, with Biden surging after a big win in South Carolina last weekend.