Donald Trump is set to meet with the Secret Service following an attempted shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, as the nation prepares for its 250th anniversary celebrations.
The incident has raised questions about how 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen managed to get so close to an event heavily guarded by the Secret Service and attended by many influential figures in the country.
With the upcoming America 250 celebrations dominating the President’s summer agenda, the White House announced that discussions are scheduled for this week at the behest of Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Despite the security breach, the White House reassured Fox News of its continued trust in the Secret Service’s capability to safeguard Trump.
“President Trump and the White House stand by the Secret Service’s leadership. President Trump has personally commended their quick action in neutralizing the threat and ensuring the safety of the President, First Lady, Vice President, and cabinet,” stated a spokesperson.
The meeting initiated by Wiles will focus on reviewing “protocol and practices for major events involving the President.”
However, they are also set to go over what took place in the leadup to Saturday’s shooting attempt.
They will also be ‘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.’
Donald Trump has forcefully backed the Secret Service in the wake of the shooting attempt on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and heading into America’s 250th birthday celebration
Some have criticized or questioned how a shooter could get so close to an event with Secret Service protection and many of America’s most powerful people in attendance
The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House and the Secret Service for comment.
A Secret Service agent was the lone person shot by alleged gunman, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, on Saturday night.
Trump described how they sprung into action against Allen in an interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday.
‘When you look at it on tape, it’s almost like a blur but it was amazing because as soon as they saw that, you could see them draw their guns. They were so professional, aimed their guns, and then they took him down immediately.’
Trump told interviewer Norah O’Donnell that he may have slowed the Secret Service’s response after shots were fired on Saturday night.
The President recounted how he ‘wanted to see what was happening.’
‘And I wasn’t going to make it that easy for them, I wanted to see what was going on,’ he said of the Secret Service.
But soon, he said, security ‘started to realize maybe it was a bad problem… different from [the] normal noise that you hear from a ballroom, which you hear all the time.
Secret service agents respond during the White House Correspondents Dinner
‘I was surrounded by great people and I probably made them act a little bit more sluggish,’ he continued. ‘I said, “Wait a minute, wait a minute, let me see.”‘
Trump said he then started walking with the agents out of the ballroom.
He said they were about halfway out when agents told him and First Lady Melania Trump to ‘Please go down to the floor, please go down to floor.’
‘So I dropped to the floor and the First Lady went down also,’ the president said.
Trump reiterated his calls for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to be rescheduled.
He said it would include ‘bigger security’ and ‘more perimeter security.’
‘I think it’s important that they do it again,’ Trump said of the dinner, adding that he does not want a ‘crazy person’ to succeed in cancelling it.
On Saturday night, Allen fired shots at the hotel in Washington, where the ritzy press gala was taking place.
31-year-old shooter Cole Tomas Allen shot a Secret Service agent but was kept from getting into the ballroom
Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and other major Washington power players were in the room
Allen, a teacher from Torrance, California, had a manifesto, and his siblings knew he had firearms and were worried about him.
On Saturday night, chilling surveillance footage captured the moment gun-wielding Allen stormed past security at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Allen was seen wearing all black as he sprinted inside the Washington Hilton hotel on Saturday evening with a gun in hand, video posted by President Trump on Truth Social showed.
Just moments before he ran, security guards were seen standing in the hallway, but as soon as he sped by, they immediately reacted and pulled out their firearms.
Police revealed the suspect had a number of weapons on him, including a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives.
President Trump shared a stunning image shortly after the shooting, showing the suspect shirtless and lying face down on the carpet.
Law enforcement confirmed he was not struck by gunfire while being stopped, but has since been taken to the hospital for evaluation.
Allen was a guest at the Hilton hotel, where the event was taking place.
Surveillance video shows the suspect sprinting past a security checkpoint and attempting to reach the doors to the ballroom where the president was gathered, along with his most senior cabinet members and thousands of journalists.
Evidence found on Allen’s electronic devices and in his writings points towards the theory that he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner.
His family members told law enforcement that Allen had sent them some of his disturbing writings before the attack, which prompted one of them to alert police. The writings did not specifically mention the dinner on Saturday.
Another family member told investigators that Allen has made radical statements and that he frequently mentioned plans to do ‘something’ to fix problems with today’s world.
The family added that Allen would regularly visit a shooting range to train with his guns. A senior US official told CBS News that the suspected gunman was part of a group called The Wide Awakes and that he attended a No Kings protest in California.
