WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump responded with a joke when a reporter asked him if he plans to wear a bulletproof vest in wake of what authorities described as another assassination attempt.
“I don’t know if I can handle looking 20 pounds heavier,” he said during a news conference on Thursday afternoon.
“If you want to gain 20 to 25 pounds, get a vest — and live,” he added.
While his comments were met with laughter from the media and members of his administration, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night marked the third time officials said a suspected gunman tried to kill the president.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, was arrested and charged after he fired a gun during the event. He faces multiple charges, including attempted assassination, and could receive a life sentence if convicted.
This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice, April 29, 2026, shows Cole Tomas Allen, left, inside his hotel room, on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Washington, using his cellphone to take a photograph of himself in the mirror. An enhanced version of the image is right. (Department of Justice via AP)
Trump said while he’s been asked about wearing protective gear in the past, he noted that “I guess it’s something you consider in one way.”
“You don’t like to do it because you’re giving in to a bad element,” he said.
Trump also told reporters he’s not focused on whether there will be a fourth assassination attempt.
“I don’t think about it. And if I did, I wouldn’t be doing a very good job here,” he said. “I’d be thinking about nothing but that. I don’t think about it. I really don’t. I don’t think about it. If I did, I wouldn’t be effective.”
Allen on Thursday appeared in federal court, where did not enter a plea just days after authorities said he ran through a magnetometer at the Washington Hilton in D.C. while holding a long gun and disrupted one of the highest-profile annual events in the nation’s capital.
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 25: Dan Scavino jumps over a chair after an incident at the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner April 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. According to reports, President Donald Trump, along with other government officials, were evacuated from the Washington Hilton after what sounded like gun fire. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
A Secret Service officer was shot — but was wearing a bullet-resistant vest and survived.
“Frankly, the vest did an amazing job because it took a bullet close up,” Trump said. “And he didn’t even want to go to the hospital. I mean, we sent him to the hospital just in case, but he didn’t want (to). You know, it’s still a hit. But, he didn’t want to go to the hospital. The vest totally protected him.”
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
