While a small army of Secret Service agents makes the US president arguably the most protected person in the world, keeping him safe is proving to be an arduous task.

First, in the summer of 2024, he survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in which a bullet grazed his ear. Just 64 days later, Trump was again targeted by an assassin while playing golf at his Florida course. And now, after gunfire interrupted the White House Correspondents' Association dinner at the Hilton Hotel in the capital, Trump's security is once again under scrutiny. While the motivation and exact target of the alleged shooter, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, remain unclear, questions are mounting about how a gunman was able to get so close to the president. Police reported that security officers and the suspect exchanged gunfire on a floor of the hotel, directly above where Trump and other guests had gathered. Among the unknowns is whether sufficient security measures were in place at the hotel, which hosted some of Washington's most influential politicians, diplomats, and journalists. Gary O'Donoghue, the BBC's chief North American correspondent, who attended the dinner and stated that, while the streets around the Washington Hilton were closed for hours, security at the venue itself “was not particularly tight.” “The man at the door only gave my ticket a quick glance from what must have been six feet away,” she wrote. Dinner tickets only had table numbers printed on them, not guests' names. No identification was requested at any time upon entering the hotel. Guests heading to dinner descended the escalators from the main lobbies before passing through a security checkpoint one floor above the ballroom entrances. As dinner began, they descended a staircase to enter. Security camera footage posted on social media by Trump shows the suspect passing through one of the checkpoints before Secret Service agents opened fire.Authorities have stated that he was carrying a shotgun, a handgun, and several knives. He exchanged gunfire with officers before being apprehended. CNN's Wolf Blitzer told the network that he saw the suspect fire a "very dangerous" weapon multiple times. The president later released a photo of a shirtless man on the ground, his hands cuffed behind his back, surrounded by Secret Service agents. Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC News that it appeared the target was administration officials, "probably including the president." Police have indicated that Cole Thomas Allen was a guest at the Washington Hilton, which remained open as a hotel despite hosting some of the world's most powerful people. The hotel closed its doors to the public hours before the event began on Saturday, and access was restricted to hotel guests and those with tickets to the dinner or receptions. at the venue.

Once Trump was seated in the ballroom, a large security detail, including heavily armed counter-attack teams, secured the room moments after shots were fired outside.

Former British ambassador to Washington, Kim Darroch, who had previously attended White House Correspondents' Dinners, criticized the security arrangements.

“If you had been there [as a hotel guest] and wanted to crash the dinner with bad intentions, you would have only had to get past one security checkpoint… and then you would have arrived in the ballroom,” he told the BBC's “Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.”

“Not a particularly secure building”

Trump himself later stated that the Hilton “was not a particularly secure building,” adding that the incident demonstrated the importance of the new White House ballroom, currently under construction but subject to litigation.

“Currently, it's a much bigger and much more secure room. drone-proof. It has bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom,” he stated. The president also praised the Secret Service's “courage,” who escorted him and Vice President JD Vance off the stage, and said they did “a great job.” and never reached the floor where Trump was located. He also praised the communication between the agents.

Asked on BBC Radio 4's Today program whether the footage showed a delay in Trump's withdrawal from the stage, James said the agents had used a “tactical pause” of several seconds to ensure they did not rush into an ambush.

Former FBI special agent Jeff Kroeger had previously told the BBC:“This is precisely what the Secret Service is trained for.” When the shots ranged out, they “converged around the president,” creating a “body barrier,” he added. Former Secret Service agent Barry Donadio told the BBC that there appeared to be no “lack of agents, officers, and police” at the event. Commenting on how security might change, some experts indicated they expected stricter measures for Trump events, such as a wider perimeter. The shooting is the latest episode of political violence in the United States, which data shows is on the rise. In 2023, the US Capitol Police investigated more than 8,000 threats, a 50% increase from 2018. The murder of Charlie Kirk in Utah last year further exposed the deep political divisions in the United States. The conservative commentator was shot while speaking at a Turning Point USA event, in an act of violence that was filmed and circulated online. Months earlier, Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed, while the husband of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Paul, was attacked with a hammer and hospitalized with a fractured skull. Other targets of presidential assassination attempts include Republican President Ronald Reagan, who was shot by John Hinckley Jr. in 1981. Reagan suffered a punctured lung in the shooting but survived. The attack took place outside the Washington Hilton, the same hotel that hosted Saturday's gala. When asked about the frequency of such attacks at his events, Trump said he had “studied assassinations” and that previous presidents like Abraham Lincoln were also targeted.

“They are important figures, and I don't want to say I'm honored by it, I'm sorry to say I'm honored by it, but I've done a lot for the United States.”