Trump Shuts Down Doubts On Secret Service Leadership After Shooting

President Donald Trump remains confident in Secret Service leadership and believes agents did “an excellent job” protecting him, top administration officials, and White House Correspondents’ Dinner attendees from a gunman who opened fire on Saturday night, the White House said.

The White House released a statement on Monday morning praising the Secret Service for its quick action in stopping gunman Cole Tomas Allen before he made it into the ballroom where over 2,500 people had gathered for the high-profile event at the Washington Hilton. A White House official said that the president is “standing by the leadership of Secret Service, and President Trump has said he personally thinks they did an excellent job neutralizing the shooter and moving the President, First Lady, Vice President and cabinet to safety.”

The Secret Service has faced criticism from some people after Allen opened fire inside the hotel, throwing the White House Correspondents’ Dinner into chaos and confusion. Video footage showed Allen running through a security checkpoint inside the hotel before he was quickly neutralized by agents. Allen shot one agent, who was protected by a bulletproof vest. No one else was injured.

In a 1,000-word manifesto, Allen criticized the Secret Service and claimed there was “no damn security” at the hotel before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Allen checked into the Washington Hilton one day before he attempted to take out the president and top Trump administration officials.

Saturday night’s shooting has added to scrutiny of the Secret Service that has been brewing since Trump was shot at his Butler, Pennsylvania, rally in July of 2024. The president has also been critical of his protection following the Butler assassination attempt, but on Saturday night, Trump said the Secret Service did exactly what it was supposed to do when Allen attempted to get into the ballroom.

“The room was very, very secure,” Trump said, adding, “The reaction time was great. Those guys had their guns drawn literally by the time he was there, they were shooting. I thought they were very impressive.”

Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles will meet with Secret Service and Homeland Security Department leadership this week to discuss the president’s protection, the White House said.

“The meeting will discuss the processes and procedures that worked to stop Saturday’s attempt, while exploring additional options to ensure all relevant components are doing everything possible to secure the many major events planned for President Trump in the months ahead as he gears up to celebrate America 250,” a Trump administration official added.

The gunman wrote in his manifesto that he was targeting Trump and high-ranking administration officials, but he added that he was also willing to kill anyone who was attending the dinner.

“I would still go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary (on the basis that most people *chose* to attend a speech by a pedophile, rapist, and traitor, and are thus complicit) but I really hope it doesn’t come to that,” Allen wrote.