STORY: :: The White House says the press dinner shooting was the third major assassination attempt against Trump

:: April 27, 2026

:: Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary

"This is the third major assassination attempt against President Trump in two years. No other president in history has faced such repeated, serious attempts on his life. First and foremost, the president, the first lady, and everyone in this White House are extraordinarily grateful to the brave law enforcement professionals who sprang into action to apprehend the would be assassin and keep all of us safe." // "The President has said he believes that the protocols worked again. You had a perpetrator who tried to breach the security parameter that was set up by Secret Service, and he was running as fast as he could and was immediately neutralized moments later. And again, having been right up there on the stage with the president and the first lady, I can tell you it was seconds before we were told to get down and it was seconds before we found ourselves in the hold room backstage. It all happened literally within a matter of seconds. The president, the vice president and the first lady being pulled to safety. That is not done if there's a lapse. So Secret Service did their jobs well, they communicated with one another to remove the president and the vice president to safety as quickly as they could, and obviously to neutralize the shooter as well. And thank God they did, because if that man was allowed into that ballroom, it would have been a much different scene."

Leavitt, in her first briefing for reporters since the Saturday night incident, confirmed that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles will convene a meeting with officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Secret Service and the White House operations team to "ensure the safety and the security of the president."

A gun-wielding suspect was stopped by Secret Service guards before he could enter the crowded hotel ballroom where Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and many other top U.S. officials were gathered for the annual dinner.

Leavitt blamed harsh political rhetoric for fostering an environment where someone might want to attack the president.