# Would the President's SS detail stop suicide? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-presidents-ss-detail-stop-suicide/355592 "2006-05-05T20:27:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-presidents-ss-detail-stop-suicide/355592/1 "2006-05-05T20:27:03Z")
Based on [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7365926&postcount=57) post, I was wondering; Say Bush attempted suicide, would his SS detail stop him? What about his children? And how about if they’re self-harming, would that come under the auspices of “protection”? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-presidents-ss-detail-stop-suicide/355592/2 "2006-05-05T20:31:54Z")
Well, they didn’t keep Clinton from committing political suicide, and they didn’t keep Cheney from shooting somebody in the face, so I have to assume they wouldn’t be able to do much to deter a seriously suicidal president. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-presidents-ss-detail-stop-suicide/355592/3 "2006-05-05T20:39:23Z")
> [@Revenant Threshold](#): > > And how about if they’re self-harming, would that come under the auspices of “protection”? “Mr. President? Come out of the bathroom, sir! We know what you’re doing in there!” ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-presidents-ss-detail-stop-suicide/355592/4 "2006-05-05T20:53:47Z")
In case anyone is interested in a serious answer, the Secret Service’s duty is to protect the President from all physical harm, including suicide. Further, the statute which authorizes the Secret Service to protect the President does not allow him to deny such protection while in office. Ergo, “Unhand me and let me blow my brains out!” would not fly. That said, things have never quite escalated that far. (There are rumors, completely unconfirmed, that the Secret Service has to physically restrain Mrs. Clinton from beating the crap out of Slick Willy when he finally confessed about Monica Lewinsky. If true, I wonder whether it was her detail or the President’s that did it.) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Clam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@Happy\_Clam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Clam)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-presidents-ss-detail-stop-suicide/355592/5 "2006-05-05T22:35:26Z")
> [@](#): > > That said, things have never quite escalated that far. (There are rumors, completely unconfirmed, that the Secret Service has to physically restrain Mrs. Clinton from beating the crap out of Slick Willy when he finally confessed about Monica Lewinsky. If true, I wonder whether it was her detail or the President’s that did it.) I like to think that her security detail engaged the President’s in a running battle to prevent them laying hands on the First Lady, who was, in turn, attempting to lay hands on the first…hmm, well, I can’t call him Gentleman, can I? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-presidents-ss-detail-stop-suicide/355592/6 "2006-05-05T22:48:22Z")
> [@Happy Clam](#): > > the first…hmm, well, I can’t call him Gentleman, can I? You could certainly call him “President,” which would be the correct term in this instance. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Clam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@Happy\_Clam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Clam)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-presidents-ss-detail-stop-suicide/355592/7 "2006-05-05T23:05:23Z")
> [@](#): > > You could certainly call him “President,” which would be the correct term in this instance. Ah, but in this case I was looking for a term to go with the adjective “first” which was analagous to “lady”, referring to his wife. Saying “first President” seems to be, at the very least, tautology. I wasn’t trying to bash Clinton. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-presidents-ss-detail-stop-suicide/355592/8 "2006-05-05T23:43:32Z")
> [@Happy Clam](#): > > Ah, but in this case I was looking for a term to go with the adjective “first” which was analagous to “lady”, referring to his wife. Saying “first President” seems to be, at the very least, tautology. I wasn’t trying to bash Clinton. First Gentleman is the appropriate term and would be used if we ever had a lady president, not that that’s likely in \*this \*country. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-presidents-ss-detail-stop-suicide/355592/9 "2006-05-06T01:02:59Z")
She could have gotten in a couple of good shots before they stopped her- the detail isn’t usually in the room when the couple is in their private quarters (they are in the adjoining suite). IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-presidents-ss-detail-stop-suicide/355592/10 "2006-05-06T16:20:12Z")
I should think they would try to stop any suicide attempt & I’m not sure why they wouldn’t. I seem to recall the claim in someone’s Washington memoir of seeing the Secret Service restrain an out of control Nixon who was running through the White House. I remember this being the juicy detail hook to but someone’s book a few years back. Couldn’t just track that down via search engine & not sure if that was true of course but presumably that was so Nixon didn’t involuntarily harm himself. ---
**Author:** ![fluffyemu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@fluffyemu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluffyemu)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-presidents-ss-detail-stop-suicide/355592/11 "2006-05-06T16:24:06Z")
\<\\> God, I certainly hope not! That’d certainly explain why he went elsewhere, though! Talk about a mood killer. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-presidents-ss-detail-stop-suicide/355592/12 "2006-05-06T17:22:36Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > not that that’s likely in \*this \*country. More so than in _this_ one, I promise you. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-presidents-ss-detail-stop-suicide/355592/13 "2006-05-06T19:40:56Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > More so than in _this_ one, I promise you. We’re supposed to be more amenable to it. Besides, Pakistan had Benazir Bhutto, India had Indira Gandhi, why are we the ones left in the shed?