"When you have influence, they will come at you."
Source: Jinshi Data
On Saturday night, Trump appeared on the White House podium in a still crisp tuxedo, just over an hour after the most recent obvious assassination attempt against him.
"When you have influence, they will come at you," Trump told some of Washington's most powerful reporters. Many of them were still in their tuxedos from the White House Correspondents' Dinner, which abruptly ended after a man armed with multiple weapons rushed past the security personnel outside the banquet hall.
Trump added, "When you are not influential, they will not pay attention to you."
The incident caused many of the 2,600 attendees at the dinner to duck for cover, and the Secret Service quickly escorted Trump and other officials away. Trump's comments after the incident revealed his instinct: to portray himself as a fearless hero—unstoppable, narrowly escaping death, while seizing every opportunity to promote his priorities.
This time, his priorities included a controversial new White House banquet hall. He insisted that this banquet hall would be safer than the Washington Hilton, where then-President Ronald Reagan encountered an assassination attempt in 1981.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche tweeted on Sunday that the Justice Department would ask a judge to dismiss a pending case that had stalled the construction of the banquet hall. Republican Senator Tim Sheehy from Montana and Republican Representative Randy Fine from Florida both stated they planned to introduce legislation in the coming days to authorize Trump to build the facility—echoing Trump's own political rhetoric.
Trump stated Saturday night, "We need this banquet hall. This is what the Secret Service, this is what the military has called for," but he did not provide evidence that security officials had made such requests.
"Turning Danger into Political Capital"
After the outbreak of the U.S. war with Iran, Trump found himself deep in the lowest approval ratings of his presidency. However, he has considerable experience in seizing opportunities during such moments.
In July 2024, at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a gunman armed with a high-powered rifle shot Trump, causing his ear to bleed. He raised his fist as he was led away by agents, shouting "Fight! Fight! Fight!"—a symbolic defiant gesture providing a signature image that aided his successful campaign to return to the White House for a second term.
The second assassination attempt against Trump occurred in September 2024, with a man armed with a rifle lurking outside Trump's golf course in Florida, before opening fire on law enforcement, who arrested the gunman.
Later, Trump stated that at Saturday night's dinner, he was prepared to sharply criticize reporters in his speech. The president, who often labels the media as "fake news" and "the enemy of the people," was ready to confront them face-to-face at this event, referred to in Washington as the "Nerd Prom," during his first appearance there as president.
He told reporters in the White House briefing room, "I was ready to give them a good dressing down."
This plan was interrupted by a California man. Authorities say that the man traveled across the U.S. by train, checked into the Hilton hotel before the dinner, and then attempted to rush past security with a shotgun, handgun, and knives toward the banquet hall. He was subdued after gunfire was exchanged with the police. Reports stated that he distributed a "manifesto" clearly indicating his intention to attack Trump and other government officials.
After the sudden dispersal of the dinner, Trump's initial statement in the White House was one of reconciliation.
However, on Saturday night, Trump quickly returned to discussing himself, placing himself among the greatest presidents of the United States. He compared himself to Abraham Lincoln. Trump told reporters that if he hadn’t imposed huge new tariffs on imported goods, and if he hadn’t invested so much in the military, he might not have become such a big target.
He stated that the White House needed its $400 million banquet hall.
On Sunday morning, Trump continued his argument on social media, stating, "If the military-grade top-secret banquet hall under construction in the White House had already been completed, this incident would never have happened...nothing should be allowed to interfere with its construction."
He then expressed hope that this attack would prompt Democrats to abandon their demand for additional oversight of immigration enforcement and approve new funding for the Department of Homeland Security. He linked the attempted assassination to what he described as successes in combating the leadership in Venezuela and Iran.
He suggested that Saturday's attack was proof of his government's achievements.
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