White House weighing on bulletproof jacket for Trump after third assassination attempt
WASHINGTON, DC: The White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, April 25, an annual event to honor journalists, was met with an unfortunate fate when a gunman opened fire at the gathering.
The gunman who opened fire at the WHCD had issued an anti-Trump manifesto before carrying out the horrifying shooting. Suspect’s anti-Trump rhetoric indicated that it was yet another assassination attempt against President Donald Trump ahead of the midterms.
White House considers bulletproof vest for Trump
The incident has prompted the White House administration to reconsider the president’s security measures. The administration is reportedly weighing the use of a bulletproof vest among other measures.
The bulletproof vest chapter in Trump’s security comes after three assassination attempts on the President in the last two years.
The discussions about whether “President Trump is going to start wearing a bulletproof vest for future events in public” are underway, said Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy on Sunday, April 26.
The WHCD shooting marks third attempt on Trump's life
The shooting at the correspondents’ dinner, which occurred nearly 30 minutes after Donald Trump, accompanied by his wife, Melania Trump, arrived for the annual gala, is an addition to the list of assassination attempts against Trump.
Earlier, Trump faced two attempts on his life, with one attacker coming extremely close to killing him, missing his head by just centimeters.
The president was targeted twice during his 2024 presidential election campaign.
On July 13, 2024, lone gunman Thomas Crooks made an assassination attempt against Trump by opening fire on the president from a rooftop during a campaign stop in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing his ears.
During the violent event, a firefighter was killed, and two of Trump's supporters were wounded. Crooks was killed in a security response.
Two months later, Ryan Routh camped out for 12 hours in a sniper’s nest with an SKS assault rifle on the edge of Trump International West Palm Beach golf club as then-candidate Trump was playing the links.
Routh was sentenced to life imprisonment in February 2026.
Firing at White House Correspondents’ Dinner
The dinner hall was rocked with the sound of gunshots soon after Trump joined other guests for the annual correspondents’ dinner at the Washington Hilton building.
A 31-year-old teacher, Cole Allen, stormed the security checkpoint, engaging in a firefight with security personnel, hitting one of the service agents with a bullet. Later during the press briefing, Trump confirmed that the wounded serviceman was in great shape as the bulletproof vest had done its job.
The gunman was immediately taken into custody, and the real motive behind the shooting is a matter of investigation, which is underway.
