Within hours of an armed gunman attempting to enter the White House correspondents’ dinner, which included top administration officials and hundreds of journalists, President Donald Trump did what he does best: Use the assassination attempt to defend his ballroom project.
During a White House press conference just hours after he and several Cabinet members were evacuated, Trump told reporters that the Washington Hilton, the hotel where the WHCD historically takes place, “was not a particularly secure building. And I didn’t want to say this, but that’s why we have to have all the features of what we’re planning in the White House. It’s a really big room and it’s a lot more secure.”
The morning after the alleged assassination attempt, Trump doubled down on his ballroom demands via a Truth Social post. “What happened last night is exactly why our great Military, the Secret Service, law enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been demanding that a larger, safer and more secure ballroom be built on the White House grounds. This event would never have happened with the Military Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House. It could not be built fast enough!”
Last month, a federal judge halted construction on the White House Ballroom, one of the more controversial projects of the second Trump administration. The $400 million project, which began when Trump suddenly ordered the demolition of the East Wing last October, is widely seen as a vehicle for corporate donors seeking Trump’s favor. Notably, several major tech and crypto corporations, including Amazon, Apple, Coinbase, Gemini, Google, Meta, and Microsoft, have donated to the nonprofit’s fund, raising questions about whether they are trying to influence Trump to sign on to favorable tech policies.
The pause was in response to a lawsuit filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which alleged that Trump had acted improperly by not seeking congressional approval as required by federal law before destroying the East Wing.
In his post, Trump called the lawsuit “ridiculous” and again demanded that the lawsuit be dropped. “Nothing should be allowed to interfere with its construction, which is on budget and well 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, the hotel located above the ballroom. Although there was light security at the immediate entrance of the hotel where paying guests were staying, Allen was unable to breach the security perimeter set up around the entrance to the underground ballroom.
Although his motivations are still largely unknown, law enforcement agents believe Allen was there to target Trump and several senior administration officials in attendance, including Vice President J.D. 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 US President with the most assassination attempts on his life. The first incident occurred during a 2024 campaign rally in Butler, PA, where a gunman fired at Trump and managed to cut off his ear; The second incident occurred at Mar-a-Lago later that year, where federal agents shot and killed a man attempting to shoot the President while he was playing golf. The Washington Hilton has also hosted a previous presidential assassination attempt, when John Hinckley Jr. shot and wounded Ronald Reagan outside the hotel in 1981.
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