President Donald Trump attributed Saturday night’s shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, in part, to the lack of a ballroom at the White House itself.
“What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE,” he wrote on Truth Social on Sunday morning. “This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House. It cannot be built fast enough!”
“While beautiful, it has every highest level security feature there is plus, there are no rooms sitting on top for unsecured people to pour in, and is inside the gates of the most secure building in the World, The White House,” Trump continued. “The ridiculous Ballroom lawsuit, brought by a woman walking her dog, who has absolutely No Standing to bring such a suit, must be dropped, immediately. Nothing should be allowed to interfere with with its construction, which is on budget and substantially ahead of schedule!!!”
His new comments echoed those he made at his press briefing shortly after the WHCD was postponed after an armed suspected rushed the Washington, D.C., Hilton hotel, injuring a Secret Service agent with a shot to the bulletproof vest in the process.
“We’re building a big, beautiful very, very secure ballroom in every way with massive bulletproof glass that’s almost 4-inches thick, it’s pretty amazing stuff. Drone-proofing,” Trump further told Jacqui Heinrich on Fox News‘ “The Sunday Briefing.” “The president doesn’t have to leave the premises. This is mostly for future presidents. We’re actually ahead of schedule, right on budget. It was always scheduled to open in ’28.”
The alleged shooter, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, has been charged with two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, per U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro. His arraignment is set for Monday, where additional charges are expected to be announced.
