President Donald Trump isn’t interested by wearing a bulletproof vest despite surviving multiple assassination attempts.
Trump, 79, was asked by reporters at an Oval Office event on Thursday, April 30, whether there had been any talks regarding the president taking the safety precaution in future.
“I don’t know if I can handle looking 20 kilos heavier,” Trump responded, prompting laughs from several people within the room.
Trump was likely the intended goal when a shooter reportedly opened fire on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner event, held within the Washington Hilton ballroom on April 24.
The president and first lady Melania Trump, 56, were rushed off stage after shots reportedly broke out.
While the Trumps, Vice President J.D. Vance and others were safely evacuated, a Secret Service agent was struck through the incident. The wounded agent was wearing a protective vest.
“Frankly, the vest did an incredible job since it took a bullet close up,” Trump said within the Oval Office on Thursday. “And he didn’t even need to go to the hospital. We sent him to the hospital.”
Trump also likened the experience of getting shot while wearing a bulletproof vest to “getting hit by Mike Tyson.”
The day after the WHCD shooting, Trump praised the bulletproof vest’s role as he briefed the media on the condition of the injured Secret Service agent.
Donald Trump. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“The vest did the job,” Trump told reporters. “I just spoke to the officer and he was doing great, he’s in great shape, in very high spirits and I told him we love him and respect him and he’s a really proud guy, he’s very happy with what he does, the Secret Service agent.”
California native Cole Tomas Allen was apprehended through the shooting and subsequently charged with attempting to assassinate the President of america, transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a criminal offense of violence, per the Justice Department. He has not yet entered a plea.
Shocking recent video footage shows the moment shots rang out on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last weekend. Jeanine Pirro, america Attorney for the District of Columbia, posted what appears to be security camera footage of the shooting incident via X on Thursday, April 30. Shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen can allegedly be […]
Meanwhile, Trump insisted he was “honored” to be a goal after the WHCD shooting incident.
“Whenever you take a look at our great presidents, [this] doesn’t occur to individuals who don’t do anything,” Trump told reporters on the White House on Saturday, April 25.
Trump has also addressed his seemingly slow evacuation from the ballroom within the midst of the incident.
“What happened is, it was a bit bit me. I desired to see what was happening, and I wasn’t making it that easy for [the shooter],” Trump told 60 Minutes on Sunday, April 26.
“I desired to see what was occurring. And by that point, we began to comprehend possibly it was a nasty problem, different form of an issue, bad one, and different than what could be normal noise from a ballroom, which you hear on a regular basis,” he added. “I used to be surrounded by great people, and I probably made them act a bit bit more slowly. I said, ‘Wait a minute. Let me see.’”