Donald Trump has defended a 'brave' female Secret Service agent who 'shielded' him during his attempted assassination after she was attacked by online trolls.

The former president praised the female agent and said she 'wanted to take a bullet' under fire after critics suggested that women were not qualified for such positions.

Trump managed to survive the attempt on his life during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania and was quickly bundled off stage by the Secret Service.

But many commentators seized on failures leading up to the moment and raised concerns about women's physicality and professionalism in such situations.

'There wasn't one that was slow, a woman that was on my right, a beautiful person,' Trump told the crowd at a rally in St Cloud, Minnesota on Saturday.

'She was shielding me with everything she could and she got criticized by the fake news because she wasn't tall enough.

'She was so brave, she was shielding me with everything, she wanted to take a bullet.'

The Republican nominee decided to respond after criticism from pundits, lawmakers and high profile donors.

'There should not be any women in the Secret Service,' Daily Wire show host Matt Walsh posted on X.

'These are supposed to be the very best, and none of the very best at this job are women.'

'Having a small person as body cover for a large man is like an undersized Speedo at the beach – doesn't cover the subject,' X owner Elon Musk, said. 'Could be a man or a woman, to be clear, just needs to be large enough to do the job.' 

Edited videos, which have racked up millions of views online, showed one female Secret Service agent struggling to holster her gun in the aftermath only reinforced the comments.  

Sexist remarks were also made about former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, with many suggesting she was only hired to meet diversity, equality and inclusion targets.

Cheatle resigned in the wake of the massive security breaches which allowed gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks to open fire on the July 13 rally, despite being identified as a suspicious person in the hours before.

She was chased down by Senators at the GOP National Convention by furious lawmakers demanding answers.

'DEI results in D-I-E,' Rep. Cory Mills told Fox News. 'We have to understand this is about meritocracy. This is not about a quota.'

The Secret Service is around 25 percent female, employing around 2,000 women.

Former agent Melanie Burkholder told NewsNation that all candidates are subjected to the same rigorous testing.

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi also hit back at the sexist analysis.

'It is an insult to the women of our agency to imply that they are unqualified based on gender. Such baseless assertions undermine the professionalism, dedication and expertise of our workforce,' said in a statement to CNN.

 'Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion ensures that we attract the best talent, fostering a robust and effective team that reflects the society we serve.

'We stand united against any attempt to discredit our personnel and their invaluable contributions to our mission and are appalled by the disparaging and disgusting comments against any of our personnel.'

However, the agency has found itself under intense scrutiny in the wake of the shooting and a catalogue of failures which allowed Crooks to proceed unchallenged to the rooftop where he shot at Trump.

While the former president escaped, firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed while trying to shield his family from the bullets.

It has since emerged that Crooks was spotted lurking hours before the rally, with concerned attendees flagging his presence to law enforcement.

 It took approaching 30 minutes for those meant to be protecting the former president to notice that his would-be murderer had climbed a roof and got into a position just 100 feet from Donald Trump was speaking

The video reveals that it was 43 seconds between the first series of pops heard and a Secret Service agent saying: 'The shooter is down.'

But despite the speed of the reaction - questions remain over the initial response.

Video from the scene just before the gunfire began shows a man speaking with a local cop and appearing to point to the roof of the building where Crooks was lying in wait.

Other bystanders can be heard directing the officer to that roof top.

A witness told KDKA that the shooting began moments after he told a cop that he'd seen Crooks.

Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe said an officer with the Butler County Township was hoisted on to the roof where he encountered Crooks.

'All I know is the officer had both hands on the roof to get up on the roof, never made it because the shooter had turned towards the officer, and rightfully and smartly, the officer let go,' Slupe said.

The roof would have been identified as a potential security risk and so should have been swept, according to experts.