Trump 'honored' to have been present at Correspondents' Dinner shooting attempt
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, JD Vance
Emily Brown
Featured Image Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, JD Vance
Donald Trump has said he's 'honored' after being asked why shooting attempts 'keep happening to him' following an attack at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Authorities have apprehended a suspect identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, after multiple gunshots rang out at the Washington Hilton hotel on Saturday night (April 25).
The hotel was hosting the Correspondents' Dinner, which is intended to raise money for young journalism students who can receive financial assistance from the White House Correspondents' Association.
Trump was in attendance at the event for the first time since he has been in office, with his wife, Melania, and Vice President JD Vance also among the guests.
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But things ended almost as quickly as they started when Trump was evacuated as the gunshots rang out, and the entire evening ended up being canceled.
The president shared footage which appeared to show the suspected shooter charging through the lobby in an attempt to evade security members, before quickly being apprehended.
Following the event, Trump held a press conference in which one reporter appeared to allude back to his attempted assassination in Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
"Why do you think this keeps happening to you?," the reporter asked Trump.
In response, the president gave the unexpected answer that he was actually somewhat 'honored' to have been involved in the two incidents.
He said: “I’ve studied assassinations and I must tell you, the most impactful people - the people that do the most... the people that make the biggest impact, those are the ones they go after.
“They don’t go after the ones that don’t do much because they like it that way. When you look at the people... whether it was an attempt or successful attempt, they’re very impactful people... They’re big names.
“I hate to say I’m honored by that but I’ve done a lot. We’ve taken this country and we were a laughing stock for years, now we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world. We've changed this country and there’s a lot of people that are not happy about that.”
According to sources cited by CBS News, Allen told law enforcement following his arrest that he was targeting 'administration officials' in the attack, but he did not specifically say he was targeting Trump himself.
In a statement, Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said the suspect 'underestimated' the Secret Service.
"Tonight, a coward attempted to create a national tragedy. He underestimated the protective capabilities of the U.S. Secret Service and was stopped at first contact," Quinn said.
Allen is scheduled to be arraigned before a federal court on Monday (April 27).