Trump says shooting by ‘would-be assassin’ points to need for White House ballroom

It followed two attempts in 2024 during his presidential campaign, including one that grazed his ear, inches away from a fatal shot.

After Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and top administration officials were evacuated from the hotel, the president spoke to reporters at the White House briefing room. He soon pointed to the need for the controversial ballroom he is building on the White House grounds where the East Wing used to be.

Lawsuits have challenged the project, claiming the ballroom’s construction hasn’t followed proper protocols, while the administration has cited national security for why it must continue.

“This is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House,” Trump said Saturday. “It’s actually a larger room, and it’s much more secure. It’s drone proof. It’s bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom.”

Police said the gunman, who was a guest at the hotel, appeared to be alone and charged a checkpoint at the hotel. He was armed with a shotgun, a hand gun, and multiple knives.

He shot a Secret Service agent, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest, then was tacked to the ground. The agent was injured and taken to a hospital. Reports said the man in custody is Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, Calif.

Trump said “this is not the first time in the past couple of years that our republic has been attacked by a would-be assassin.”

When asked why he has faced multiple assassination attempts, Trump replied he has studied assassinations in the past and said the “most impactful people” like Abraham Lincoln have been targets.

“The people that do the most, the people that make the biggest impact—they’re the ones that they go after,” Trump explained.

He later added: “It’s not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it. No, I don’t think so, based on what we know.”

Security at the event

Questions were soon raised about the level of security at the hotel where the correspondents dinner was held.

“I was there this evening and there was no security to be admitted to the lobby of the hotel. Guests had to simply flash a ticket to a pre-event party or the dinner itself to be let into the premises, which in hindsight was alarming,” Caty Payette, communications director for Sen. Martin Heinrich, posted on X.

At a separate news conference, Secret Service Director Sean Curren said the gunman charged a checkpoint and was apprehended, showing that “our multi-layered protection works.”

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said the suspect is being is charged with using a firearm during crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using dangerous weapon. 

“This individual was intent on doing as much harm and as much damage as he could and thankfully because of the checkpoint—right outside the ballroom where thousands of people were situated to hear the president of the United States—because that checkpoint worked there was no one who was injured,” she said.