Third ‘assassination attempt’ against Trump in two years: White House blames ‘left wing’ hatred for gala dinner shooting

The White House on Monday (April 27) said the US President has faced a third major assassination attempt in two years and blamed a “left-wing cult of hatred” for the shooting at a gala correspondents' dinner in Washington attended by President Donald Trump, describing the night as being hijacked by “a crazy anti-Trump individual.”

"How is whatever the assassin wrote in his manifesto any different to what is written in hatred for President Trump on social media?," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Speaking in the briefing room, Leavitt raised concerns over rising political violence in the US, blaming rhetoric from President Trump’s detractors and describing the shooting as a result of “systemic” criticism of the president over more than a decade by Democrats and sections of the media.

“The left-wing cult of hatred against the president and all of those who support him and work for him has gotten multiple people hurt and killed, and it almost did so again this weekend,” she told a briefing.

"Those who constantly, falsely label and slander the president as a fascist, as a threat to democracy, and compare him to Hitler to score political points, are fueling this kind of violence," she added.

She also confirmed that President Trump “would attend the rescheduled dinner,” stating that the “new ballroom is critical for national security,” a project closely associated with the president, and emphasising that it is “critical we get done as quickly as possible.”

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Leavitt also backed First Lady Melania Trump’s criticism of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, questioning how such remarks could be made about a US president. She referred to Melania Trump’s social media post in which the First Lady had called for action against Kimmel over an “expectant widow” joke, describing his comments as “hateful and violent rhetoric intended to divide our country.”

Melania had referred to a remark made during a mock White House Correspondents' Dinner monologue on Kimmel’s show, where he said, “Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”

Taking the shooting incident as a context to raise concerns over DHS funding, Leavitt said the department has remained unfunded for more than 70 days. She said the incident highlights “how important it is for Congress to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security,” calling it “a national emergency” and urging lawmakers to “put their country over party and get the Department of Homeland Security funded.”

She added that “defunding of DHS should be a national scandal” and insisted that “Democrats need to fund Homeland Security, period.”

The White House said President Donald Trump continues to trust the Secret Service and confirmed that meetings will be held with top DHS leaders and White House officials to ensure the president’s safety.

The funding standoff began after immigration officers shot and killed two US citizens in January, prompting Senate Democrats to withhold support for DHS funding while pushing for stricter oversight of immigration enforcement.