Trump says he thought gunman sound at WHCA dinner was ‘a tray going down many times’

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump said on Saturday night, April 25, that when he heard the disturbance involving a gunman near a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner, he first thought it was just a tray falling.

He described his first reaction at the moment the incident happened. The dinner was held that night, and the president and first lady were escorted out shortly after they arrived.

Speaking about the suspect, the WHCD shooting suspect is Cole Tomas Allen. Columnist Karol Markowicz shared an update on X (formerly Twitter), saying the individual is from Torrance, California, and is in custody.

Trump thought sound at WHCA dinner was a tray falling

Donald Trump spoke about the incident during a quick press briefing at the White House. He was brought back by motorcade before many senior officials who had attended the dinner.

“Actually, it was totally shocking to me, and that never changes,” Trump said, referring to earlier assassination attempts during his 2024 campaign, including one in Butler, Pennsylvania, and another at his Florida golf course.

He explained what he thought he heard at first: “I heard a noise, and sort of thought it was a tray. I thought it was a tray going down many times,” he said. “There was a gun, and some people really understood that quite quickly. Other people didn’t. I was watching to see what was happening, probably should have gotten down a little faster.”

Trump also said Melania appeared to understand the situation immediately. “Melania was very cognizant, I think, of what happened,” he said. “I think she knew immediately. She was saying, ‘it’s a bad noise.’”

Trump links assassination attempts to high-profile influence, cites Abraham Lincoln 

According to The Guardian, Trump said he believes people who have a strong impact on society are more likely to face assassination attempts. He compared himself to Abraham Lincoln and said those who “make the biggest impact” tend to be targeted more than others.

“The people that make the biggest impact, they’re the ones that they go after. They don’t go after the ones that don’t do much, because they like it that way,” he said.

Trump also said it is still unclear whether the gunman had political motives or was influenced by wider tensions, including the US conflict with Iran. He added that the suspect, who he said was from California and appeared shirtless in images he shared online, seemed to have acted alone.

As reports, the gunman fired at a Secret Service agent, who was protected by a bulletproof vest and survived. Trump praised the Secret Service response, saying it was stronger than their handling of the earlier Butler rally incident.