BUTLER, Penn. – Former President Trump leaped to the defense of a female Secret Service agent who “shielded” him during an assassination attempt, after she faced blistering online criticism.

“I don’t know how they didn’t get hit,” Trump told thousands at a St. Cloud, Minnesota, rally on Saturday as he recalled how “bullets were flying” and the security detail had rushed to shield his body.

“Every one of them – there wasn’t one that was slow. A woman who was on my right, she was shielding me,” he said. “Beautiful person – she was shielding me, everything she could. And she got crushed. And she got criticized by the fake news because she wasn’t tall enough.”

Trump said that the unidentified female agent was “so brave” and “wanted to take a bullet” for the 45th president.

“Well, you know, she wasn’t tall enough. Because I’m tall, and she wasn’t tall enough. And she was criticized – she was so brave, she was shielding me with everything, she wanted to take a bullet, because the bullets were flying. Incredible.”

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Trump speaks during a rally at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on July 27, 2024, in St Cloud, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Following the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt on July 13, the female agent was criticized by online pundits as well as from Trump donors.

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“Watch these female agents who have no clue what to do, or what they are doing,” conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza wrote on X following the incident. “The Secret Service has been trying to raise the number of its female recruits to meet a 30% goal. This is DEI!”

Trump is surrounded by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

A female Secret Service agent is seen shielding Trump following the assassination attempt at the Butler County Fair Grounds on July 13. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Podcaster Matt Walsh wrote that there “shouldn’t be any women” in the Secret Service following the assassination attempt.

“There should not be any women in the Secret Service. These are supposed to be the very best, and none of the very best at this job are women,” Walsh posted on X the morning after the assassination attempt. “If there’s a woman doing a job like this, it 100 percent means that a more qualified male was passed over.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk argued that the Secret Service agents must be “large enough” to cover the subject.

“Having a small person as body cover for a large man is like an undersized Speedo at the beach – doesn’t cover the subject,” Musk wrote on X following the incident. “Could be a man or a woman, to be clear, just needs to be large enough to do the job.”

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle arrives to testify before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee at the Capitol, Monday, July 22, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The Secret Service has faced increased scrutiny after the security lapses that led to Thomas Matthew Crooks successfully opening fire at the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Kimberly Cheatle, who had served as Secret Service director since August 2022, stepped down following bipartisan calls for her to immediately resign after the agency she headed allowed Crooks to get within 135 meters (157 yards) of the stage where the former president was.

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“I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she said in her resignation letter. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”

In the aftermath of the attempted assassination, the House Homeland Security Committee launched a full investigation and issued subpoenas into the incident.