'Security Device' Forces Evacuation of Trump Campaign Offices: Report
On Tuesday, The New York Times reported that former President Donald Trump’s campaign offices were evacuated and searched after staff discovered what they believed to be a “security device.”
Maggie Haberman of The Times stated that the offices were thoroughly inspected after security personnel feared they might have been compromised by listening devices.
The article, co-authored by Jonathan Swan, referenced a police report detailing the incident. Haberman suggested that the evacuation was triggered by “paranoia” following the email hack that Trump’s campaign disclosed earlier this summer.
However, The Times indicated that the devices found were likely part of a prank.
“A plastic prank device that can be purchased on Amazon for $13.97 was the cause of the problem,” the report stated.
“A police report from the West Palm Beach police department, obtained by The New York Times, detailed the incident. Devices were found on Thursday after people heard beeping under a staff member’s desk at the Trump campaign offices. When Trump officials searched, they found additional devices, for a total of three,” the article continued.
It further added:
“FOUND POTENTIAL LISTENING DEVICES // HEARD BEEPING BY DESKS // INTERNAL SECURITY ALSO FOUND DEVICE,” the police report reads. The person making the report, according to the document, “THINKS THEY HAVE FOUND LISTENING DEVICES ‘BUGS; IN THE OFFICE.’”
Despite the police presence, officials determined quickly that the devices were likely a prank. No one has owned up to the prank, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
A Trump spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The police report said that “about fifty employees evacuated the suites.” The security official who works for the offices in the building told the police he believed “the devices were part of a prank. The suites were canvassed for any additional devices and evidence yielding negative results,” according to the document.
Based on the description and cost, the devices appear to be the “AnnoyingPCB” — advertised as “the ultimate gag gift or revenge pranks.”
Meanwhile, a prominent pollster has revealed that Vice President Kamala Harris’s lead against Trump in the polls is “steadily cutting.”
A recent ActiVote survey, conducted between August 25 and September 2, shows that Harris holds a 1.6-point lead over Trump, with 50.8 percent compared to his 49.2 percent. This margin falls within the poll’s 3.1 percent margin of error.
In the previous ActiVote poll, which was conducted among 1,000 potential voters between August 15 and 23, Harris led Trump by five points, but that lead has since narrowed.
“Harris’ poll numbers improved steadily for about three-four weeks after Biden dropped out, followed by a period of two weeks where it hovered around a 5-point lead. In the past five days that 5-point lead has been steadily cut to just under 2 percent,” wrote ActiVote pollster Victor Allis.
Before Harris’s campaign launch, Trump was leading Joe Biden both nationally and in each of the seven swing states. However, in the aftermath of Biden’s withdrawal from the race, surveys suggested that Harris’s candidacy injected new momentum into the Democratic campaign, allowing her to surpass Trump’s lead nationally and secure an edge in six out of the seven swing states.
Nevertheless, other polls also indicate that Harris’s lead is diminishing.
For the first time since early August, Trump was ahead of Harris in the Electoral College on Friday, according to pollster Nate Silver’s forecast model. Trump held an almost 5-point lead against Harris (47.3%) according to his projection, which gave him a 52.4 percent chance of winning the Electoral College.
“Although we wouldn’t advise worrying too much about the difference between a 52/48 race one way versus a 48/52 race the other way—it’s not a big difference—this wasn’t a good day for Kamala Harris in our model, as Donald Trump is the slight favorite for the first time since August 3,” Silver wrote in an update.