On Saturday, [Donald Trump](https://inews.co.uk/topic/donald-trump?ico=in-line_link) was supposed to find himself in an unfamiliar and possibly even uncomfortable position. For the first time as President, he had agreed to attend the White House correspondents’ dinner, where presidents and members of the media have traditionally exchanged barbs and (supposedly) light-hearted insults.
That claim probably does not stand up to historical scrutiny: Gerald Ford is not remembered as one of the country’s most significant presidents and yet he survived two attempted assassinations in 1975. The world has also largely forgotten that Trump’s predecessor, [Joe Biden](https://inews.co.uk/topic/joe-biden?ico=in-line_link), was working in the White House in May 2023 when a young man with neo-Nazi sympathies rammed a truck into a security barrier, later telling investigators that he planned to depose the president.
Unlike Trump’s brush with death in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, the gunman on Saturday never got close to the ballroom where Trump was about to entertain more than 2,000 guests. This time, there were no [bloodstained fist-pumps](https://inews.co.uk/opinion/trump-assassination-attempt-change-course-history-3169311?ico=in-line_link) as the Secret Service rushed onto the dais and scurried the President away.
The war with Iran, and the economic fallout, has divided his once-united base. Only one voter in three still approves of Trump’s handling of the economy, according to polls, which remains the most important issue on American minds ahead of November’s key midterm elections.
In 2024, the attempted assassination in Butler – which took place on the eve of the Republican Party’s nominating convention in Milwaukee – boosted Trump’s political fortunes and arguably helped him win the keys to the Oval Office 17 weeks later.
Could the latest attack lead to a similar uptick in support, or at least enough to blunt the momentum that some believe will lead to the Democrats retaking the House and potentially the Senate?
Polls showing any change in political support will only be available in the coming weeks, but this time around it is far from evident that Trump will enjoy a bump in support that could help him navigate his way out of the dire political straits he finds himself in.
While Todd Blanche, the acting Attorney General, said that this latest gunman was “likely” targeting the President, he never came close to actually hurting Trump, at least not when compared with the attempt in Pennsylvania.
Watch [footage](https://x.com/javiernegre10/status/2048297137604039167) from inside the ballroom – where some guests had the presence of mind to grab champagne and wine bottles from their tables before exiting the building – and it’s clear that the initial moment of panic and emergency dissipated quickly. This time around, there was no iconic photo moment that would be etched into people’s minds.
In fact, in the minds of Maga supporters, the White House correspondents’ dinner is itself heavily linked with the “Washington swamp” that Trump came to power vowing to destroy. Instead, swamp life is thriving, with the dinner putting the cozy relationships between the powerful and those who cover them on display.
Working-class voters, struggling to pay $4 a gallon at the petrol pump, are unlikely to feel too much sympathy for a President who was seemingly never in real danger, was busy tucking into a salad course with people he professes to despise, and [continues to wage a war on Iran](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/trump-iran-maga-fury-ahead-midterms-4267044?ico=in-line_link) that is forcing prices higher with no end in sight.
The alleged gunman’s lingering effect on Washington may not be apparent in the ballot box, but they may be seen by future generations on its skyline.
AssociateGreat2350 on
The incoming oil crisis is going to be such a shit show for him already.
It’s like a tsunami that’s coming for all of us and barely anyone’s talking about it. But it’ll be a corner he himself painted us all into and its really going to hurt
He’s definitely going to go down as the most hated president in history. and It’s all downhill from here
WentBrokeBuyingCoins on
Incoming weekly “assassination” attempts
Dwayla on
Ugh, he’s going to start doing this more frequently.
KiDIcaruS on
that “assault” was faker than my grannys teeth i’m sorry.
Theferael_me on
There were over 43 attempts on Hitler’s life, both in the form of plots and actual assassination attempts. Von Stauffenberg’s is just the most well-known.
Cute-Ad2879 on
Crazy how Lee Harvey managed a headshot on a moving target in the back of a crowded vehicle, but none of these jokers who manage to outsmart the secret service at every turn can even get a shot on target on a stationary old fat man that barely reacts to the physical stimulus around him.
Not condoning the actions. Marksmanship in the nation has gone to shit though.
metalunamutant on
The attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed, but I assure you my resolve has never been stronger.
ArdaBerkBurak on
A very weak attempt.
ChloeGranola on
Last night will be out of the news in a couple of days. The war, the economy, the Files will not.
Lost_And_Found66 on
I think what this does is give cover to those wavering on Trump to jump firmly back on his side which they would probably do eventually anyway buy yanno.
SummerSun75 on
We’ll probably have another half-baked assassination attempt about 2 weeks before the midterms.
TheGOPisTheDeepState on
People aren’t buying it, clearly was staged. So incompetent they can’t even make it believable. Low energy, sad, beta, and embarrassing.
Alger6860 on
Hopefully the Trump name will be reviled forever.
sdbrews on
Based on what has been released so far – and the rumors of a “mic-drop” stunt – this appears to be staged. In short, if words are coming out of trumps mouth, he is lying.
Erratic_-Prophet on
There were several other “attempts” in between this totally real one and the totally real one that politically saved him.
Jason1920 on
This was staged. That fat fuck’s just trying to legitimize building his dumb ballroom. (Probably thought it would raise his poll numbers, as well.) If you can’t see that, there’s no hope for you.
100% a set-up.
SlowCrates on
Yeah, we’re kind of tired of Trump’s bullshit. In the age of deepfakes, and a constant stream of provable lies from Trump, no one buys anything anymore. Was it real? Does it fucking *matter*?
Eddiebaby7 on
When you create a world where everything is a conspiracy, don’t be surprised when no one thinks you’re telling the truth.
oneofyallfarted on
Whenever it came over the news I couldn’t have cared less. I don’t even mean that in a dickish way but I think in my mind it registered just as another day with this clown and his antics. I can’t even take the presidency seriously anymore, it’s a joke. I don’t even feel sorry for any of those rich fucks in that room and maybe now some of them know the feeling of fear. It sucks to be scared for your life innit?
PresJamesGarfield on
Regardless of what actually happened, it says a lot about how terrible of a person he is that on three separate occasions someone has tried to kill him and nobody cares.
ACaffeinatedBear on
That Trump immediately used this to talk about the ball room isn’t suspicious at all.
NoIncrease299 on
Is it really an “attempt” when the act went as planned?
Potential_Salt_5780 on
Plus last time he got a little paper cut on his ear to show how wounded he was. No such luck this time.
veryjudgely on
True that. It is a formula that worked well for Trump in the past. It almost feels staged at this point because his approval numbers are at an all time low.
yellowjackethokie on
He was never in any danger, either time, and I’m tired of people pretending like he was.
lactose_cow on
next time we get someone from his cabinet under oath we gotta ask “as far as you know, was this staged”
In around 2010 or 2011 Barack Obama came to my city to give a public outdoor speech in an open plaza in front of a very large crowd. As it happened, my office building was kitty corner and a few hundred yards from where his podium would be.
My own office would have been an assassin’s dream. 6 floors above the podium. Clear line of sight. Maybe 200 yards away.
The upper floors of our building, including my own office were closed down several days before the speech; we were not allowed to come to work. In those days each and every office was searched by a team of agents — with dogs — pre-screening and checking out vantage points. On the day of the speech multiple snipers were located in offices around the upper floors in order to be able to cover the president from all angles. My office included.
I describe this just to explain the level of intensity and precision with which presidential security is typically handled from my own actual experience of being adjacent to it.
None of the facts of this story make sense if anything like that level of care is being taken around the current occupant of the office. How could they not secure this space to a point where a man with a gun simply could not get anywhere close to the event? They can do that in big cities with public spaces filled with thousands of people. This is a hotel.
I don’t know what to make of it. I just know it doesn’t add up.
Annahsbananas on
The entire thing was obviously staged
Horror-Layer-8178 on
Nobody gives a shit when oil prices have risen thirty percent
Outrageous-Tell1218 on
After the tragedy at Butler (audience member killed), and the near-tragedy at the golf couse (Don unable to complete 18 holes), they now have perfected a completely safe “attempt on the President’s life” — the gunman never got close to a firing position and Trump still gave a speech demanding his ballroom be built.
Wetbug75 on
I was gaming with a bunch of people in Discord when the news dropped. I was astonished how many people’s reactions were basically: “Huh, wow. Anyways, crazy weather we’re having right?”
AcidicEater on
The last “attempt on trumps life” he was scared as shit and barely did public appearances, always with shielding. This one he came back on tv within minutes calling for his ballroom to be built. So fearless all of the sudden?
First one was already sus but this just reeks.
PomegranateAncient25 on
At least no one was killed with this latest so called attempt on his life.
36 Comments
On Saturday, [Donald Trump](https://inews.co.uk/topic/donald-trump?ico=in-line_link) was supposed to find himself in an unfamiliar and possibly even uncomfortable position. For the first time as President, he had agreed to attend the White House correspondents’ dinner, where presidents and members of the media have traditionally exchanged barbs and (supposedly) light-hearted insults.
Instead, thanks to the actions of an armed man, he found himself on sadly familiar ground: talking to reporters at the White House about another [apparent attempt on his life](https://inews.co.uk/news/security-arrangements-prepared-for-kings-us-visit-after-white-house-shooting-4381103?ico=in-line_link), and [claiming that he is a persistent target](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/trump-latest-brush-with-death-will-only-fuel-his-anger-4381110?ico=in-line_link) of would-be killers because “the people who make the biggest impact are the people they go after”.
That claim probably does not stand up to historical scrutiny: Gerald Ford is not remembered as one of the country’s most significant presidents and yet he survived two attempted assassinations in 1975. The world has also largely forgotten that Trump’s predecessor, [Joe Biden](https://inews.co.uk/topic/joe-biden?ico=in-line_link), was working in the White House in May 2023 when a young man with neo-Nazi sympathies rammed a truck into a security barrier, later telling investigators that he planned to depose the president.
Unlike Trump’s brush with death in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, the gunman on Saturday never got close to the ballroom where Trump was about to entertain more than 2,000 guests. This time, there were no [bloodstained fist-pumps](https://inews.co.uk/opinion/trump-assassination-attempt-change-course-history-3169311?ico=in-line_link) as the Secret Service rushed onto the dais and scurried the President away.
No shots were fired inside the ballroom itself, with the [incident contained in the Washington Hilton’s ground floor](https://inews.co.uk/news/gunfire-reports-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-trump-evacuated-4381016?ico=in-line_link) above.
Still, some will hope that the impact could be just as critical for Trump and his [flagging political support](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/trump-approval-rating-cratering-us-economic-pain-last-until-2027-4374633?ico=in-line_link). The attack came at a moment when he is in urgent need of a political turnaround. On Tuesday, the latest [Associated Press/NORC poll](https://apnews.com/article/trump-approval-iran-economy-cost-of-living-poll-fff492898cc8ff34e11df90ec4837a79) showed the President’s approval rating at just 33 per cent, its lowest level on record.
The war with Iran, and the economic fallout, has divided his once-united base. Only one voter in three still approves of Trump’s handling of the economy, according to polls, which remains the most important issue on American minds ahead of November’s key midterm elections.
In 2024, the attempted assassination in Butler – which took place on the eve of the Republican Party’s nominating convention in Milwaukee – boosted Trump’s political fortunes and arguably helped him win the keys to the Oval Office 17 weeks later.
Days before the Butler shooting, [polls showed](https://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/en/analyses/near-miss-assessing-the-impact-on-the-election-of-the-trump-assassination-attempt/) 70 per cent of Trump supporters were enthusiastic about his candidacy. Ten days after, that number had leaped to 85 per cent. Across the US, a third of voters, regardless of their political persuasion, told pollsters that Trump’s life was saved by “divine providence”.
Could the latest attack lead to a similar uptick in support, or at least enough to blunt the momentum that some believe will lead to the Democrats retaking the House and potentially the Senate?
Polls showing any change in political support will only be available in the coming weeks, but this time around it is far from evident that Trump will enjoy a bump in support that could help him navigate his way out of the dire political straits he finds himself in.
While Todd Blanche, the acting Attorney General, said that this latest gunman was “likely” targeting the President, he never came close to actually hurting Trump, at least not when compared with the attempt in Pennsylvania.
Watch [footage](https://x.com/javiernegre10/status/2048297137604039167) from inside the ballroom – where some guests had the presence of mind to grab champagne and wine bottles from their tables before exiting the building – and it’s clear that the initial moment of panic and emergency dissipated quickly. This time around, there was no iconic photo moment that would be etched into people’s minds.
In fact, in the minds of Maga supporters, the White House correspondents’ dinner is itself heavily linked with the “Washington swamp” that Trump came to power vowing to destroy. Instead, swamp life is thriving, with the dinner putting the cozy relationships between the powerful and those who cover them on display.
Working-class voters, struggling to pay $4 a gallon at the petrol pump, are unlikely to feel too much sympathy for a President who was seemingly never in real danger, was busy tucking into a salad course with people he professes to despise, and [continues to wage a war on Iran](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/trump-iran-maga-fury-ahead-midterms-4267044?ico=in-line_link) that is forcing prices higher with no end in sight.
A noticeable Trump bump is therefore unlikely.
There is, though, at least one tangible benefit he is likely to derive from a security operation that appears, on Saturday, to have allowed a gunman to get so close to those who pull the levels of power in the White House. To a person, administration officials are [now echoing](https://x.com/MeidasTouch/status/2048347927542984881/photo/1) Trump’s argument that the attack on the Hilton proves the need for his [White House ballroom](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/ballooning-versailles-ballroom-shows-trump-narcissism-has-no-end-4079057?ico=in-line_link) to be completed as soon as possible.
The alleged gunman’s lingering effect on Washington may not be apparent in the ballot box, but they may be seen by future generations on its skyline.
The incoming oil crisis is going to be such a shit show for him already.
It’s like a tsunami that’s coming for all of us and barely anyone’s talking about it. But it’ll be a corner he himself painted us all into and its really going to hurt
He’s definitely going to go down as the most hated president in history. and It’s all downhill from here
Incoming weekly “assassination” attempts
Ugh, he’s going to start doing this more frequently.
that “assault” was faker than my grannys teeth i’m sorry.
There were over 43 attempts on Hitler’s life, both in the form of plots and actual assassination attempts. Von Stauffenberg’s is just the most well-known.
Crazy how Lee Harvey managed a headshot on a moving target in the back of a crowded vehicle, but none of these jokers who manage to outsmart the secret service at every turn can even get a shot on target on a stationary old fat man that barely reacts to the physical stimulus around him.
Not condoning the actions. Marksmanship in the nation has gone to shit though.
The attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed, but I assure you my resolve has never been stronger.
A very weak attempt.
Last night will be out of the news in a couple of days. The war, the economy, the Files will not.
I think what this does is give cover to those wavering on Trump to jump firmly back on his side which they would probably do eventually anyway buy yanno.
We’ll probably have another half-baked assassination attempt about 2 weeks before the midterms.
People aren’t buying it, clearly was staged. So incompetent they can’t even make it believable. Low energy, sad, beta, and embarrassing.
Hopefully the Trump name will be reviled forever.
Based on what has been released so far – and the rumors of a “mic-drop” stunt – this appears to be staged. In short, if words are coming out of trumps mouth, he is lying.
There were several other “attempts” in between this totally real one and the totally real one that politically saved him.
This was staged. That fat fuck’s just trying to legitimize building his dumb ballroom. (Probably thought it would raise his poll numbers, as well.) If you can’t see that, there’s no hope for you.
100% a set-up.
Yeah, we’re kind of tired of Trump’s bullshit. In the age of deepfakes, and a constant stream of provable lies from Trump, no one buys anything anymore. Was it real? Does it fucking *matter*?
When you create a world where everything is a conspiracy, don’t be surprised when no one thinks you’re telling the truth.
Whenever it came over the news I couldn’t have cared less. I don’t even mean that in a dickish way but I think in my mind it registered just as another day with this clown and his antics. I can’t even take the presidency seriously anymore, it’s a joke. I don’t even feel sorry for any of those rich fucks in that room and maybe now some of them know the feeling of fear. It sucks to be scared for your life innit?
Regardless of what actually happened, it says a lot about how terrible of a person he is that on three separate occasions someone has tried to kill him and nobody cares.
That Trump immediately used this to talk about the ball room isn’t suspicious at all.
Is it really an “attempt” when the act went as planned?
Plus last time he got a little paper cut on his ear to show how wounded he was. No such luck this time.
True that. It is a formula that worked well for Trump in the past. It almost feels staged at this point because his approval numbers are at an all time low.
He was never in any danger, either time, and I’m tired of people pretending like he was.
next time we get someone from his cabinet under oath we gotta ask “as far as you know, was this staged”
Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein Epstein
Many people are saying that it’s fake news.
In around 2010 or 2011 Barack Obama came to my city to give a public outdoor speech in an open plaza in front of a very large crowd. As it happened, my office building was kitty corner and a few hundred yards from where his podium would be.
My own office would have been an assassin’s dream. 6 floors above the podium. Clear line of sight. Maybe 200 yards away.
The upper floors of our building, including my own office were closed down several days before the speech; we were not allowed to come to work. In those days each and every office was searched by a team of agents — with dogs — pre-screening and checking out vantage points. On the day of the speech multiple snipers were located in offices around the upper floors in order to be able to cover the president from all angles. My office included.
I describe this just to explain the level of intensity and precision with which presidential security is typically handled from my own actual experience of being adjacent to it.
None of the facts of this story make sense if anything like that level of care is being taken around the current occupant of the office. How could they not secure this space to a point where a man with a gun simply could not get anywhere close to the event? They can do that in big cities with public spaces filled with thousands of people. This is a hotel.
I don’t know what to make of it. I just know it doesn’t add up.
The entire thing was obviously staged
Nobody gives a shit when oil prices have risen thirty percent
After the tragedy at Butler (audience member killed), and the near-tragedy at the golf couse (Don unable to complete 18 holes), they now have perfected a completely safe “attempt on the President’s life” — the gunman never got close to a firing position and Trump still gave a speech demanding his ballroom be built.
I was gaming with a bunch of people in Discord when the news dropped. I was astonished how many people’s reactions were basically: “Huh, wow. Anyways, crazy weather we’re having right?”
The last “attempt on trumps life” he was scared as shit and barely did public appearances, always with shielding. This one he came back on tv within minutes calling for his ballroom to be built. So fearless all of the sudden?
First one was already sus but this just reeks.
At least no one was killed with this latest so called attempt on his life.