Donald Trump has claimed that political assassins target the 'most impactful people' when asked why he continues to face assassination attempts. The president has experienced at least three known attempts, beginning with the incident in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024, where a gunman injured Trump and killed one of his supporters.
Latest Attempt at White House Correspondents' Dinner
The third attempt occurred on Saturday when 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen tried to storm the White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Washington Hilton. During a press conference following the failed shooting, Trump was asked directly: 'Why do you think this keeps happening to you?'
Trump responded by saying his answer was informed by having 'studied assassinations' and suggested it related to the target's global impact. 'I must tell you the most impactful people, the people that do the most, you take a look at the people – Abraham Lincoln – I mean, you go through the people that have gone through this where they got ’em, but the people that do the most and the people that make the biggest impact are the ones that they go after,' he said.
The president added that assassins do not plot attacks against figures that 'don't do much because they like it that way.' He continued: 'Just take a look at the names here. The big names, and I hate to say I’m honored by that, but I’ve done a lot. We’ve done a lot.'
Trump's Claims on National Transformation
Trump then asserted that as president, he has transformed the United States from 'a laughingstock' to 'the hottest country in the world.' He believes this transformation is a reason why shooters have targeted him. 'We’ve changed this country, and there are lot of people that are not happy about that,' Trump said.
The Suspect's Manifesto
Allen called himself the 'Friendly Federal Assassin' in a chilling manifesto written before the attack. He sent the anti-Trump writing to his family members just 10 minutes before firing shots at the hotel. The manifesto was given to police by a relative, a US official said.
According to the New York Post, Allen's manifesto read: 'Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed. I'm not the person raped in a detention camp. I'm not the fisherman executed without trial. I'm not a schoolkid blown up or a child starved or a teenage girl abused by the many criminals in this administration. Turning the other cheek when *someone else* is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor's crimes.'
He added: 'In order to minimize casualties, I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls). I would still go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary (on the basis that most people *chose* to attend a speech by a pedophile, rapist, and traitor, and are thus complicit) but I really hope it doesn't come to that.'
His targets included 'administration officials (not including [FBI Director Kash] Patel): they are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest.' Allen wrote, allegedly referencing the president: 'I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.'
Previous Assassination Attempts
Previously, Trump was shot at in Pennsylvania by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed on site by law enforcement. Another 2024 assassination attempt was carried out in Florida by 59-year-old Ryan Routh, who was recently sentenced to life in prison.
Details of the Saturday Attack
On Saturday night, chilling surveillance footage captured the moment gun-wielding Allen stormed past security at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Allen was seen wearing all black as he sprinted inside the Washington Hilton hotel with a gun in hand, video posted by President Trump on Truth Social showed. Moments before he ran, security guards were standing in the hallway, but as soon as he sped by, they immediately reacted and pulled out their firearms.
Police revealed the suspect had a number of weapons on him, including a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives. Trump shared a stunning image shortly after the shooting, showing the suspect shirtless and lying face down on the carpet. Law enforcement confirmed he was not struck by gunfire while being stopped, but has since been taken to the hospital for evaluation.
Allen had rented a room at the Hilton hotel, where the event was taking place. Surveillance video shows the suspect sprinting past a security checkpoint and attempting to reach the doors to the ballroom where the president was gathered, along with his most senior cabinet members and thousands of journalists.
Evidence found on Allen's electronic devices and in his writings points towards the theory that he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner. His family members told law enforcement that Allen had sent them some of his disturbing writings before the attack, which prompted one of them to alert police. The writings did not specifically mention the dinner on Saturday.
Another family member told investigators that Allen has made radical statements and that he frequently mentioned plans to do 'something' to fix problems with today's world. The family added that Allen would regularly visit a shooting range to train with his guns. A senior US official told CBS News that the suspected gunman was part of a group called The Wide Awakes and that he attended a No Kings protest in California.
