A few hours after an armed gunman tried to enter the White House Correspondents Dinner, attended by senior administration officials and hundreds of journalists, President Donald Trump did what he does best: use an assassination attempt to protect his ballroom project.
During a press conference at the White House just hours after he and several cabinet members were released, Trump told reporters that the Washington Hilton, the hotel where the WHCD historically took place, “wasn’t the most secure building. And I didn’t want to say this, but that’s why we have to have every aspect of what we’re planning at the White House. It’s actually a big room and it’s very secure.”
The morning after the alleged assassination attempt, Trump doubled down on his ballroom demands in a Truth Social post. “What happened last night is the reason why our military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement, for various reasons, every President in the last 150 years, DEMANDED that a large, safe and secure Ballroom be built in the WHITE HOUSE GARAGE. This event could not have happened in the Military Top Secret Ballroom!
Last month, a federal judge halted construction of the White House ballroom, one of the most controversial projects of Trump’s second administration. The $400 million project, which began when Trump suddenly ordered the demolition of the East Wing last October, is seen as a vehicle for corporate sponsors trying to curry favor with Trump. Notably, several major tech and crypto companies have contributed to the non-profit fund, including Amazon, Apple, Coinbase, Gemini, Google, Meta, and Microsoft, raising questions about whether they are trying to influence Trump to sign favorable technology policies.
The suspension was in response to a lawsuit filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, alleging that Trump acted improperly by not seeking approval from Congress as required by federal law before destroying the East Wing.
In his post, Trump called the case “ridiculous” and again called for the case to be dropped. “Nothing should be allowed to interfere with its construction, which is on budget and ahead of schedule!!!”
Initial reports identified the alleged shooter as Cole Allen, a 31-year-old man from Torrance, CA, who was staying at the Washington Hilton, a hotel above the stadium. Although there was light security at the hotel’s nearest entrance where paying guests stayed, Allen was unable to breach the security barrier set up near the entrance to the underground ballroom.
Although his motives are still unknown, law enforcement officials believe that Allen was there to target Trump and senior administration officials who were present, including Vice President JD Vance, FBI director Kash Patel, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and senior adviser Stephen Miller. Hundreds of high-profile journalists were also in attendance, including members of the White House press corps.
This is the third attempt on Trump’s life, making him the American president with the most assassination attempts in his life. The first occurred during the 2024 campaign in Butler, PA, where a gunman shot Trump and managed to detain him; the second occurred later that year at Mar-a-Lago, when federal agents shot and killed a man who was trying to shoot the president while he was playing golf. The Washington Hilton also hosted a previous assassination attempt, when John Hinkley Jr. shooting and wounding Ronald Reagan outside a hotel in 1981.
