By Jacob Boggess and Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) – Donald Trump’s tuxedo still looked fresh when he stepped to the White House podium on Saturday night, an hour after the latest apparent attempt on his life.
“When you’re influential, they come after you,” the US president told some high-powered reporters in Washington.
Many of them were still dressed in their formal attire from the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, which ended abruptly after a man armed with several weapons ran past security outside the ballroom.
“When you’re not effective,” Trump added, “they leave you alone.”
Trump’s remarks after an event caused many of the 2,600 people in attendance to sink to the floor as the Secret Service emphasized his tendency to spin stories about himself as a fearless hero — a juggernaut, a survivor — while the president and other dignitaries rarely miss an opportunity.
On this occasion, it included the controversial new White House ballroom which, he insisted, would be safer than the Washington Hilton, where then-President Ronald Reagan was shot during an assassination attempt in 1981.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche posted on social media Sunday that the Justice Department will ask a judge to dismiss a pending lawsuit blocking construction of the ballroom. Senator Tim Sheehy, Republican of Montana, and U.S. Representative Randy Fine, Republican of Florida, both planned to introduce legislation in the coming days to allow Trump to build the facility — echoing Trump’s own political message.
“We need a ballroom. That’s why the Secret Service, that’s why the military is making this demand,” Trump said Saturday night, without providing evidence that presidential security officials had issued such demands.
‘Danger to political property’
Trump, who is widely unpopular with Americans and plunged into the lowest approval ratings of his tenure since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran, is familiar with the opportunities such moments present.
In July 2024, a gunman armed with a high-powered rifle wounded Trump, leaving his ear bloody, at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. His trademark defiance — “Fight! Fight! Fight!” He raised his fists in triumph as agents led him away — providing iconic images that helped his campaign return to the White House for a second term.
A second attempt to attack Trump came in September 2024, when a man armed with a rifle sat outside a Trump golf course in Florida and was shot by officers who were arresting the gunman.
“No one can turn a threat into a political asset better than this president,” a White House official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss Trump’s mental state.
At the Saturday dinner, Trump was preparing to criticize reporters during his speech, he later said. The president, who has often derided the press as “fake news” and the “enemy of the people,” was prepared to confront them personally, attending the dinner — dubbed the “Nerd Prom” in Washington — for the first time as president.
“I was really ready to tear it up,” he told reporters at a White House briefing.
That plan was thwarted by a California man who authorities say traveled cross-country by train, checked into the Hilton before dinner, then attempted to dash toward security and the ballroom armed with shotguns, handguns and knives. Officers exchanged gunfire with him before he was knocked to the ground. He reportedly distributed a “manifesto” making clear his desire to attack Trump and other administration officials.
‘I’ve done a lot’
After the dinner abruptly broke up, Trump’s initial comments at the White House were conciliatory.
“In light of the events of this evening, I urge all Americans to recommit themselves with their hearts and resolve our differences peacefully,” the president said. In the past he has defended and ultimately pardoned the rioters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, seeking to reverse Trump’s election loss to Joe Biden.
On Saturday night, Trump quickly returned to talking about himself — and counting himself among the best American presidents. He compared himself to Abraham Lincoln. Trump told reporters that if he had not imposed significant new taxes on imports and invested heavily in the military, he would have been less of a target.
“We’ve changed this country, and there are a lot of people who are not happy about it,” Trump said.
The White House, he said, needed his $400 million ballroom, for which he ordered the unilateral destruction of the East Wing of the executive mansion. The facility will include new security bunkers, a drone-proof roof and bulletproof glass, Trump said. With space planned for 650 guests, it won’t have enough capacity for an event as large as the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
Trump continued his argument Sunday morning, saying on social media, “This incident would never have happened with the top-secret military ballroom currently under construction at the White House. … Nothing should be allowed to interfere with its construction.”
Later, he said he hoped the attack would lead Democrats to drop demands for additional oversight of immigration enforcement and approve new funding for the Department of Homeland Security. He linked the assassination attempt to what he described as a successful mission to cut off the leadership of Venezuela and Iran.
Saturday’s attack was a testament to his administration’s achievements, he suggested.
(Reporting by Jacob Boggess and Nandita Bose. Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Bo Erickson and Trevor Hunnicutt. Editing by Craig Timberg and Deepa Bebbington)
