By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON, June 26 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday returns to a famed Washington hotel for the first time since an armed attacker forced the postponement of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April.
Trump is slated to appear at the Washington Hilton to address the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s annual “Road to Majority” event. He cut short his appearance at the April 25 dinner after a man armed with a shotgun tried to get past Secret Service officials guarding the hotel’s ballroom.
The Faith and Freedom Coalition is an evangelical group that has supported Trump. The Republican president supports many of the group’s causes, including attempting to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports. But he has also drawn criticism from Christian supporters of Israel over his ceasefire deal with Iran and from anti-abortion opponents who feel the administration has been too permissive.
“There has never been a bigger champion for families and people of faith than President Trump,” said a White House official who declined to be named.
Security is expected to be tightened for Friday’s event. A Secret Service official who declined to be named said presidential security “continuously evolves to meet today’s heightened security environment.”
“While the existing security plan at the April 2026 White House Correspondents Dinner was effective in interdicting an identified threat, the agency continually reviews our security posture and will make adjustments, as necessary,” the official said.
Authorities identified the gunman as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old California resident who pleaded not guilty to charges that he tried to assassinate Trump. Trump said afterward that the hotel was “not a particularly secure building.”
The president survived two previous attempts on his life since 2024, a period of deepening political polarization in the United States.
Prosecutors allege Allen fired a shotgun at a Secret Service agent and stormed a security checkpoint in a foiled attack on Trump and other members of his administration at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the dinner.
The Washington Hilton has been the site of dozens of annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinners, and is a frequent venue for other events involving the president. Former President Ronald Reagan survived a 1981 shooting outside the hotel.
The correspondents’ association is planning a smaller redo of its canceled dinner in late July at a different hotel.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Trevor Hunnicutt and Sanjeev Miglani)
Comments