Donald Trump has addressed fresh questions about his personal security after a third alleged attempt on his life in recent years.
While speaking with reporters during an executive order signing on Thursday, April 30, the President was asked whether his protection detail might introduce additional measures to keep him safe.
One journalist specifically raised the idea of him “potentially wearing a bullet-proof vest moving forward,” noting that body armor had recently been credited with helping save a Secret Service agent who was shot at close range.
Trump, however, suggested he wasn’t eager to adopt that option, replying: “I don’t know if I can handle looking 20 pounds heavier.”
He then added: “If you want to gain 20 to 25 pounds, get a West vest,” which appeared to reference the Wilson MLB West Vest chest protectors commonly worn by baseball umpires.
Even so, he emphasized that the protective equipment had performed effectively for the agent involved in the weekend shooting.
“Frankly, the vest did an amazing job because it took a bullet close up,” Trump said on Thursday. “And he didn’t even want to go to the hospital. We sent him to the hospital.”
During the same exchange, Trump also described what it might feel like to be hit while wearing body armor, comparing it to ‘getting hit by Mike Tyson.’
The comments surprised some observers given the string of incidents he has faced, with three separate attempts on his life reported over the past two years.
The latest case was said to have unfolded on Saturday, April 25, during the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, when authorities allege that Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, rushed a security checkpoint and shot an officer.
Allen has since been charged with one count of attempt to assassinate the President of the United States, transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Before that, Trump was targeted during his 2024 campaign, when Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump was reportedly grazed by a bullet, and the incident left Crooks and one attendee dead, with two others injured.
A further attempt was reported two months later, in September 2024, when Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested after allegedly trying to assassinate Trump at his Florida golf club.
Routh was ultimately sentenced to life in prison in February 2026.
Despite the repeated threats, Trump has sounded unfazed at times, saying on Saturday that he felt ‘honored’ to have been targeted so often.
“They don’t go after the ones that don’t do much.”