After a brief exchange of gunfire, a suspect was detained at US journalism’s most celebrated annual event on Saturday. Investigators said 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen planned to assassinate the US president and other administration officials.
Trump was rushed out of the event by Secret Service agents and later posted surveillance footage of the gunman sprinting past a security checkpoint. A security guard, who was lightly wounded when a bullet struck his bulletproof vest, was the only casualty.
It was the first time President Trump – who has a famously combative relationship with the media – had agreed to attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which is known for its roasts of attendees and other public figures.
Read moreA tutor with a manifesto: What we know about the US press gala shooting suspect
In the aftermath, conspiracy theories quickly took root online.
By midday on Sunday, the term “staged” appeared in more than 300,000 posts on X, the New York Times reported, citing information from social media analytics firm TweetBinder.
Trump is among only a handful of US presidents who have been targeted by multiple high-profile assassination attempts during their time in office. And this latest attempt comes amid plummeting approval numbers: four new polls this month put the president’s approval ratings at record or near-record lows as voters sour on his hardline anti-immigration tactics, rising inflation and the war in Iran.
“His approval ratings are so bad that he staged another assassination attempt to get out of the White House correspondents’ dinner,” wrote one X user in a post that had 42,000 likes at press time.
Even members of the former MAGA faithful have been expressing frustration with the president, with some also increasingly vocal about suspicions that a July 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, was staged. Speculation has long raged that Trump was never actually wounded during the attempt, given that his ear remained intact despite supposedly having been shot by a rifle. The FBI has confirmed that Trump’s ear was struck by “a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces” in Butler.
Influential podcaster Joe Rogan and former FOX TV personality Tucker Carlson – once among Trump’s most ardent defenders – have both recently speculated that the Butler incident was a hoax meant to boost Trump ahead of the 2024 election. Former MAGA supporter and congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene also weighed in last week, saying in a post on X that the administration’s strange behavior following Butler amounted to a “cover up” [sic].
‘Shots fired tonight’
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt helped fuel speculation about this latest attempt with some unfortunate comments to Fox News on the red carpet before the gala got under way. Asked about Trump’s anticipated speech, Leavitt said the president was “ready to rumble” with the press and that the speech was going to be “classic Donald J. Trump”.
“There will be some shots fired tonight in the room, so everyone should tune in – it’s going to be really great.”
Multiple social media users reposted her comments, remarking that her choice of words was “one hell of a coincidence”.
Others quickly pointed out that “shots fired” could easily refer to the verbal barbs Trump was planning to lobby at the press during the annual gala.
To display this content from X (Twitter), you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.
Another viral but unsubstantiated post ostensibly showed the suspect wearing a shirt bearing an Israel Defense Forces logo. FRANCE 24 could not independently verify the image.
Ballroom pivot
A chorus of reactions on the political right led some to speculate that the incident was an elaborate hoax to drum up support for Trump’s controversial ballroom, which has limited public support. Shortly after the thwarted attack, Trump promoted his White House ballroom as a superior venue for future gatherings.
"This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding: “It cannot be built fast enough!"
Some later pointed out that multiple MAGA accounts echoed this exact sentiment with remarkably similar posts, not expressing shock or concern for those affected but emphasizing that Saturday's events underscored the need for a White House ballroom.
GOP Congressman Randy Fine of Florida was unequivocal, writing: “We’d better never again hear a peep from anyone complaining about a White House ballroom.”
“I don’t want to hear one more [expletive] criticism of Trump’s new ballroom at the White House,” TV personality Meghan McCain wrote on X.
“THIS IS WHY WE NEED TRUMP’S BALLROOM” wrote Libs of TikTok, an influential far-right social media account.
Democratic account Blue Georgia was among the social media users who posted screen grabs of MAGA accounts calling for a White House ballroom. © Screen grab X
The 'incompetence is insane'
Other conspiracies centered on the security failures that allowed a man armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives to get anywhere close to the event, especially considering the history of assassination attempts against Trump.
“Shots fired, the Secret Service rushes in, and they let Trump continue to sit there?” asked one X user incredulously.
Another pointed out that Vice President JD Vance was rushed from the room before Trump, in violation of Secret Service protocol.
Even the suspected gunman was reportedly shocked by the ease with which he was able to gain access to the event.
In the manifesto Allen sent to family members shortly before the start of the gala, he described the lack of security measures at the Washington Hilton where the dinner was being held by saying, "this level of incompetence is insane".
Ironically, this is the same hotel where an assassination attempt against former president Ronald Reagan occurred in 1981.
According to the manifesto, printed by the New York Post, Allen referred to himself as the "Friendly Federal Assassin" and said he was targeting Trump administration officials with the exception of FBI Director Kash Patel.
He went on to outline his motivations.
"On to why I did any of this: I am a citizen of the United States of America. What my representatives do reflects on me. And I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes," he wrote.
Allen cited Christian principles in saying he was trying to protect those being harmed by the administration.
"Turning the other cheek when *someone else* is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor's crimes," the manifesto read, according to the official.
Trump has requested that the dinner be rescheduled within 30 days. President Weijia Jiang of the White House Correspondents' Association, which hosts the annual gala, said its board will be meeting to decide on whether and when to reschedule.
English (US) · 