A man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby of the Washington Hilton during the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner in the latest alleged assassination attempt on President Trump
President Trump has now weathered three potential assassination attempts in just 21 months, finding himself at the heart of numerous security alarms.
He has been targeted at a rally, a golf course and now a hotel, surviving each attempt. However, the most recent shooting attempt was labelled as an “historic security failure”.
A man armed with firearms and knives, who Trump has dubbed a “whack job” stormed the lobby of the Washington Hilton last night during the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. Footage depicted him sprinting through a metal detector and bypassing security as he charged towards the ballroom in what a security expert described could have been a “catastrophe”.
One officer was shot, with the bullet striking his bullet-resistant vest. Trump and other top US politicians were hurriedly escorted off stage and out of the event while the gunman was subdued and taken into custody.
Andrew Badger, former defence intelligence agency officer, told Sky News: “I think this is a historic event. What strikes me is that eight out of the nine cabinet members who would succeed President Trump were at this single event…this is a historic failure, this gunman should never have got that close to the President.”
Trump came closest to being assassinated on July 13, 2024, when a bullet grazed his right ear. Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, discharged eight rounds with a rifle from a rooftop overlooking the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. He failed to kill Trump but murdered another attendee Corey Comperatore, 50, a former volunteer fire chief who was amongst the crowd and protecting his family. Two others sustained serious injuries. The shooter was eliminated by a Secret Service marksman, reports the Mirror.
In the moments following being struck, a defiant President Trump rose with blood on his face and lifted his right fist shouting ‘fight, fight, fight’. A later senate report condemned Secret Service planning, communications and leadership. They were criticised for permitting the shooter to penetrate the security perimeter with a rifle and reach an elevated position near Trump.
Footage of the incident and witness testimonies indicate that members of the audience became aware of the threat before police and other security personnel and tried to warn them of the danger. But it was only when the shooter began firing that officials recognised the peril and reacted, with Thomas Crooks shot dead by armed officers. In September 2024, a gunman was sighted with a rifle at Trump’s International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while the President was on the course.
As Trump switched holes, a Secret Service agent noticed a gun barrel protruding from the bushes. A Secret Service agent shot at Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, who escaped without firing and was apprehended on a nearby motorway. He is currently serving a life sentence.
In September 2025, an off-duty New York (NYPD) police officer, Melvin Eng, arrived at the Ryder Cup golf tournament at Bethpage Black Course in New York, armed and in full tactical gear, pretending to be part of Trump’s security team.
It was later revealed that Eng was on sick leave, had no official assignment to be part of the president’s detail and no assigned role at the event. The incident reportedly led to Eng’s suspension, pending further investigation by the NYPD.
Earlier this year in February, US Secret Service agents and a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office shot and killed an armed man who breached the inner perimeter at Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s residence in Florida. He was not present at the time of the incident.
The suspect, 21-year-old Austin T. Martin from North Carolina, was reportedly carrying a shotgun and a fuel cannister when he entered Mar-a-Lago. TMZ later reported that Martin had become increasingly obsessed with Epstein, a former friend of Trump.
The most recent shooting occurred in the identical hotel where former President Reagan was injured by John Hinckley Jr. on March 30, 1981. Reagan was heading back to his limousine following a speaking event when Hinckley fired at him with a revolver, severely injuring him. Hinckley thought the assault would captivate the actress Jodie Foster.
It triggered security reforms at the hotel, including a protected garage built to accommodate the presidential limousine which connects to a private lift to transport the VIPs to a secure suite. It features its own washroom with monogrammed towels. Yet despite these modifications, a gunman was permitted to access the hotel on the day of a high-profile event attended by some of the most influential politicians globally.
Following the most recent shooting, Trump remarked: “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, they’re the ones that they go after.”
Former FBI agent Jonathan Gilliam expressed his amazement that a potential assassin was once more permitted to get so close to the President in Saturday’s shooting. He commented: “There has been better security at events like the Superbowl. You cannot get a bag in, bigger than a purse. I cannot for the life of me understand how this keeps happening.”
Ex-FBI agent Barry Donadio commented on the Washington attack, saying: “I have manned check points like that. Watching the video of him running to get through gave me chills. He ran quickly. If they had not stopped him then he would have got right through. They did exactly what they were supposed to do, but that video is terrifying.”