By Jacob Bogage and Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - Donald Trump's tuxedo still looked freshly pressed when he stepped to the White House podium Saturday night, barely an hour after the latest apparent attempt on his life.
"When you're impactful, they go after you," the U.S. president told some of the highest-powered journalists in Washington.
Many of them were still dressed in their own formal wear from a celebrated annual event, the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, which ended abruptly after a man sprinted past security outside the ballroom, armed with multiple weapons.
"When you're not impactful," Trump added, "they leave you alone."
Trump's remarks in the aftermath of an incident that caused many of the 2,600 people in attendance to dive to the floor as the Secret Service hustled away the president and other dignitaries underscored his instinct to spin narratives with himself as the undaunted hero -- a juggernaut, a survivor -- while rarely missing a chance to plug his priorities.
On this occasion, that included a controversial new White House ballroom that, he insisted, would be safer than the Washington Hilton, where then-President Ronald Reagan was shot during an assassination attempt in 1981.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche posted on social media Sunday that the Justice Department would ask a judge to dismiss a pending case that has stalled the ballroom's construction. Tim Sheehy, a Republican senator from Montana, and Randy Fine, a Republican U.S. Representative from Florida, both wrote that they planned to introduce legislation in the coming days to grant Trump permission to build the facility -- echoing Trump's own political messaging.
"We need the ballroom. That's why Secret Service, that's why the military are demanding it," Trump said Saturday night, without offering evidence that presidential security officials have issued such demands.
'DANGER INTO POLITICAL ASSET'
Trump, who is mired in the lowest approval ratings of his term after the start of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran that is broadly unpopular with Americans, has experience at the opportunities presented by such moments.
A gunman armed with a high-powered rifle injured Trump, leaving his ear bloodied, at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. His trademark defiance -- with calls of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" as agents led him away while he raised his fist in triumph -- supplied iconic images that helped power his campaign to return to the White House for a second term.
A second attempt to attack Trump came in September 2024, when a man armed with a rifle perched outside a Trump golf course in Florida before drawing fire from officers, who arrested the gunman.
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"No one can turn danger into a political asset better than this president,” a White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss Trump's state of mind, told Reuters.
At the dinner Saturday, Trump had been preparing to sharply criticize journalists during his speech, he said afterward. The president, who often derides the press as "fake news" and "the enemy of the people," was ready to confront them in person, while attending a dinner - called the "nerd prom" in Washington - for the first time as president.
"I was all set to really rip it," he told reporters in the White House briefing.
That plan was interrupted by a California man who authorities say traveled cross country by train, checked into the Hilton ahead of the dinner, then attempted to dash through security and toward the ballroom, armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives. Authorities exchanged fire with him before tackling him to the ground. He reportedly distributed a "manifesto" making clear his desire to attack Trump and other administration officials.
'I'VE DONE A LOT'
After the dinner abruptly dispersed, Trump's initial remarks at the White House were conciliatory.
"In light of this evening's events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts and resolve our differences peacefully," said the president. In the past he has defended and ultimately pardoned the rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, seeking to overturn Trump's electoral loss to Joe Biden.
On Saturday night, Trump soon returned to talking about himself -- and numbering himself among the finest U.S. presidents. He compared himself to Abraham Lincoln. Trump told reporters that if he had not imposed significant new taxes on imports and had not invested as heavily in the military, he'd be less of a target.
"We've changed this country, and there are a lot of people that are not happy about that," Trump said.
The White House, he said, needed his $400 million ballroom, for which he unilaterally ordered the destruction of the East Wing of the executive mansion. The facility, Trump has said, will feature a new security bunker, a "drone-proof" roof and bulletproof glass. With a planned space for 650 seated guests, it would not have enough capacity for an event as large as the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.
Trump continued his arguments Sunday morning, saying on social media, "This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House. ... Nothing should be allowed to interfere with its construction."
Later, he said he hoped the attack would lead Democrats to drop demands for additional oversight of immigration enforcement and approve new funding for the Department of Homeland Security. He linked the assassination attempt to what he described as successful missions to decapitate the leadership of Venezuela and Iran.
Saturday's attack, he suggested, was proof of his administration's achievements.
(Reporting by Jacob Bogage and Nandita Bose. Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Bo Erickson and Trevor Hunnicutt. Editing by Craig Timberg and Deepa Babington)
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