The Presidency Is 'A Dangerous Profession': What Trump Said After Shooting at Journalists' Dinner
· Telemundo McAllen (KTLM)
WASHINGTON D.C. – President Donald Trump appeared somber and unusually conciliatory after what he described as a third attempt on his life in less than two years. He suggested his personal politics had made him a repeated target but also called for unity and healing in an increasingly violent world. 'It’s always shocking when something like this happens. It happened to me, a little bit. And that never changes,' Trump told reporters during an impromptu press conference at the White House on Saturday night. Earlier, an armed man stormed the Washington hotel where Trump was set to address the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Authorities are in the early stages of determining what happened and why. The suspect, identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, from Torrance, California, was detained. Trump asserted that he was undoubtedly the target. The presidency is 'a dangerous profession,' he said, adding that political violence has escalated in the U.S. and globally. 'No country is immune,' he remarked. He also suggested the incident was a sign of his presidency’s success. 'I’ve studied assassinations, and I must tell you, the most influential people—the ones who accomplish the most, look at Abraham Lincoln,' Trump stated. He added, 'The people who make the greatest impact are the ones who are pursued. They don’t go after those who don’t do much.' Trump urged Americans to set aside their differences and unite, marking a departure from his usual combative political approach. 'We have to, we have to resolve our differences,' he declared. 'I’ll say this: there were Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Conservatives, Liberals, and Progressives. Those words are interchangeable, maybe, but maybe they’re not. Still, everyone in that room—a great crowd—a record-breaking crowd—there was an enormous amount of love and unity. I saw it, I saw it, and I was deeply moved by it.' By Sunday morning, Trump had shifted focus, using the incident to promote the ongoing construction of the White House ballroom, which he ordered to replace the East Wing. On social media, he claimed the event 'would never have happened with the Top Secret Military Ballroom currently under construction at the White House. It can’t be built fast enough!' He also mocked legal challenges to the project, calling them 'the ridiculous ballroom lawsuit.' Following a 2024 rally shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump was injured and a supporter died, he delivered a softer, personal speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee days later. 'The discord and division in our society must heal. We must heal them quickly,' he said at the time. 'As Americans, we are united by one destiny and a shared future. We rise together, or we fall apart.' However, those calls for unity were short-lived. Trump soon returned to his combative rhetoric, repeating false claims about the 2020 election being stolen and blaming Democratic President Joe Biden for 'unthinkable' damage to the nation. The pattern repeated in September 2024, when Secret Service agents shot a man armed with a rifle while Trump was golfing at his resort in West Palm Beach, Florida. Steve Witkoff, Trump’s golfing partner during the incident, described Trump’s initial reaction as 'brave and stoic.' Shortly afterward, Trump resumed speaking about 'radical Democrats' and 'left-wing lunatics,' calling Ryan Routh, the man sentenced to life for attempting to kill him, a 'sick individual.' Unlike the previous incidents, Saturday’s shooting occurred with First Lady Melania Trump by his side. Trump described his wife as shaken but 'very aware, I think, of what happened.' 'I think she knew immediately,' Trump said. 'She was saying,