re: How incompetent is the White House secret service detail?

The truth is a lot of it is just security theater designed to stop anybody from even considering an attempt.

Granted, this was clearly incompetence because the guy actually got inside but close calls probably happen a lot more than we know.

Forget Colombia where the SS were bringing hookers into their rooms while all of their protocols for the trip were just hanging out in plain sight; we're just thirty years removed from the President strolling to his car out in the open and the SS just ditty bopping behind him while some random nut pulls out a gun and unloads on him.