Donald Trump, who was recently shot at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, responded to the backlash and trolling he faced from a “brave” and “beautiful” Secret Service agent who “protected” him during the horrific attack.

The Republican presidential candidate responded to the agent’s misogynistic critics online by saying she would “take a bullet” for him, despite comments from some that women are unsuited for such roles.

At a rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota on Saturday, Trump defended the officer, claiming, “There wasn’t one that was slow, there wasn’t a woman standing to my right, there wasn’t a pretty person.”

The former president praised the Secret Service agent for protecting him with everything, noting, “She was criticized by the fake news for not being tall enough. She was so brave, she protected me with everything, she would take a bullet.”

Secret Service faces backlash after attack on Trump

Trump made the comments at a time when prominent donors such as Elon Musk, members of Congress and experts have been critical of the Secret Service.

Tesla CEO Musk wrote of X: “A small person as a body covering for a big man is like a too-small Speedo at the beach – it doesn’t do the job. It can be a man or a woman, to be clear, it just has to be big enough to get the job done.”

Meanwhile, Daily Wire show host Matt Walsh wrote on X: “There should be no women in the Secret Service. They should be the best of the best, and none of the best of the best in this job are women.”

Also read: Rutgers University faces backlash after professor says she ‘hopes’ Trump assassination attempt ‘inspires others’

Secret Service Agents Claim ‘Failure Is Not An Option’

According to the most recent statistics from the agency, there are about 8,000 people employed by the Secret Service. About 24% of the people are women and about 75% are men.

Former agent Melanie Burkholder told NBC that every candidate undergoes the same intensive scrutiny.

Several female agents claimed that the path to becoming a presidential protection agent is tough and involves physical tests. However, they insisted that “failure is not an option.”

“It comes down to: Can you do what you’re asked to do? And if you can, there’s no way they should discriminate against women by saying you can’t do it,” Burkholder said.

The former officer also said she outperformed some of her male colleagues during an exercise that required her to quickly climb a rope course and ring a bell.