As the suspect in the White House Correspondents’ dinner shooting is expected to appear in court soon, a reconstructed timeline of the president’s assassination-related incidents has been shared after a reporter asked Trump why he thinks such attacks happen so often.
President Trump said he “wasn’t worried” during the shooting that erupted at the White House Correspondents’ dinner on Saturday evening (April 25), an event attended by members of the press and government officials.
Federal officers identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, described as a “game developer and teacher” from Torrance, California.
Following a search of his home, a relative reportedly provided investigators with a disturbing note Allen allegedly sent to close family members roughly 10 minutes before shots were fired at the Washington Hilton hotel.
Allen allegedly referred to himself as the “Friendly Federal Assassin” in a manifesto, where he reportedly detailed targets “prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” and supposedly did not include FBI director Kash Patel.
The Republican leader is scheduled to welcome two high-profile visitors today (April 27) — King Charles III and Queen Camilla — and has insisted they will be “very safe” during the closely watched state visit.
“The White House grounds are really safe,” he said to reporters on Sunday (April 26), “This area of not very many acres is really safe.”
He also said the royals would be staying on the grounds for the duration of their visit.
During a brief press conference after the incident — in which a Secret Service agent was reportedly protected by a bullet-proof vest — a reporter asked Trump why he believes attacks continue to happen.
The 79-year-old replied: “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.”
He added: “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.”
Trump also suggested he felt “honored.”
“I’ve done a lot,” he continued, “We’ve taken this country and we were a laughing stock for years, now we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world.”
While the suspect’s motive has not been made clear, this is not the first time Trump has been connected to an incident involving gunfire.
Since beginning his second term, the president has faced multiple security scares, including alleged assassination plots linked to both his time in office and the campaign trail.
During the 2024 election campaign, Trump survived an attack at a rally in Butler County, where he was hit in the ear and avoided more serious injury by seconds.
At least five shots were fired, and Secret Service agents quickly moved to the stage to shield him.
The gunman was later identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, who was shot dead by federal officers.
Another incident occurred on September 15 at around 2pm, when Trump was at his Florida golf resort and gunshots were heard as he moved between holes with Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East.
The course was placed into lockdown after Secret Service agents reportedly spotted a gun in nearby bushes and fired their weapons.
The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, was later arrested and, in February, was sentenced to life in prison for plotting to kill Trump.
In a separate security scare, Melvin Eng — an off-duty New York Police Department officer — arrived at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black Course wearing tactical gear and allegedly attempted to pass himself off as part of Trump’s protective detail.
Eng was reportedly on sick leave with no assignment and was later suspended pending an investigation into the incident.
Elsewhere, a man carrying a gas can and a shotgun was shot dead by Secret Service agents after crashing into the Mar-a-Lago security perimeter while Trump was in Washington.
The attacker was identified as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin from North Carolina, though authorities have not confirmed a motive.