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President Trump has accused the Democrats of “very dangerous hate speech” following the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting.
The incident Saturday is the latest in a growing number of political attacks in recent years, including an attempt on Trump’s life in Pennsylvania in July 2024 and another in Florida that same year.
On Sunday night’s episode of CBS News’ 60 Minutes, Trump was asked what a president can do to “change the trajectory” of political violence in the United States.
open image in gallery President Trump said that the ‘hate speech of the Democrats’ is ‘very dangerous’ during a 60 Minutes interview ( 60 Minutes Overtime, CBS )
“Well, you know, you go back 20 years, 40 years, 100 years, 200 years, 500 years, it’s always been there,” Trump mused. “People are assassinated. People are injured.
“People are hurt. And I'm not sure that it's any more now than there was,” he continued. “I do think that the hate speech of the Democrats much more so is very dangerous.
“I really think it's very dangerous for the country,” Trump added.
The incident unfolded on Saturday near the main security screening area at the Washington Hilton, with Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and members of the Cabinet being raced out of the venue’s ballroom by the Secret Service.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC News’ Meet the Press that senior administration officials and the president were “likely” the targets of the attack.
open image in gallery Cole Tomas Allen has been arrested in connection with the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner ( Reuters )
During the 60 Minutes interview, CBS correspondent Norah O’Donnell pointed out that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his sister, Kerry Kennedy, were in attendance at the dinner.
Their father, Robert F. Kennedy, and their uncle, former president John F. Kennedy, were both victims of assassinations.
O’Donnell added that Erika Kirk, the widow of the assassinated Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, was present at the event.
In the wake of Kirk’s killing last year, experts warned that political violence in the U.S. is at its worst since the late 1960s.
Other recent incidents include the shooting of Minnesota Democrat Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot at their home in Brooklyn Park in 2025. Earlier that day, the shooter had attacked state Senator John Hoffman and his wife at their property in Champlin.
open image in gallery The president and First Lady Melania Trump were evacuated from the ballroom during the incident at the Washington Hilton ( Reuters )
After the correspondents’ dinner shooting at the weekend, prominent Democrats flocked to X to express their relief that the president and those inside the Washington Hilton were safe.
“Political violence is absolutely unacceptable,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote. “I am glad the President and guests at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner are safe.”
“Relieved everyone at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is safe tonight based on initial reports,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote.
Suspect Cole Tomas Allen has been arrested in connection with Saturday’s incident and is due to appear in court Monday.
Allen faces two charges, including using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a deadly weapon.