The White House blames ‘left-wing cults of hatred’ for the attack against Trump

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had said goodbye to the press corps last Friday as she began maternity leave for her second child. But Saturday’s attack by Cole Thomas Allen — the man subdued as he tried to enter the ballroom of Washington’s Hilton hotel armed, while U.S. President Donald Trump was attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner — brought her back to the podium on Monday.

After Trump delivered an initial message of unity a couple of hours after the incident, Leavitt used Monday’s briefing to blame what she called the “left‑wing cults of hatred” for the attack on the president. “Nobody in recent years has faced more bullets and more violence than President Trump,” she said. “This political violence stems from a systemic demonization of him and his supporters by commentators — yes — by elected members of the Democrat Party, and even some in the media. This hateful and constant and violent rhetoric directed at President Trump, day after day after day for 11 years, has helped to legitimize this violence and bring us to this dark moment,” she added.

Leavitt also targeted “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.” According to the press secretary, several points in the suspect’s manifesto echo language used by many left‑leaning commentators in the United States, and she sought to illustrate that by citing recent statements from Democratic politicians.

“The deranged lies and smears against the president, his family, his supporters have led crazy people to believe crazy things and they are inspired to commit violence because of those words,” said Leavitt. “It has to stop.”

Leavitt also addressed the controversy surrounding comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s recent monologue, in which he joked about Melania Trump, saying she had “an expectant widow.” The first lady urged ABC on Monday, via X, to fire the host. The press secretary added: “Who, in their right mind, says a wife would be glowing over the potential murder of her beloved husband?”

Allen was scheduled to appear before a federal judge on Monday, less than 48 hours after attempting a failed attack on the president of the United States and other senior administration officials.

He appeared in Washington, where he faces two charges: using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. The U.S. Department of Justice has indicated that additional charges are likely.

“It is clear that this individual was intent on doing as much harm as he could. Thank God for our law enforcement who acted so quickly to prevent what could have been a horrific event,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, one of Trump’s most controversial judicial appointments in his second term, in a post on X.

In an interview with Fox News on Monday morning, FBI Director Kash Patel discussed his plans to hold a joint press conference with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to provide details about the investigation. “We have all of those questions answered” regarding the suspect’s movements leading up to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, he said. The briefing will take place after Allen appears before a judge and is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Washington.

New details emerge

In the hours following the failed assassination attempt, numerous details have emerged about Allen, a 31-year-old Californian, a teacher, a computer scientist with a degree from a prestigious university, and a video game design enthusiast. He traveled to Washington from Torrance, the town of 150,000 inhabitants where he lived, by bus and train. The day before the shooting, he checked into the Hilton Hotel, where 45 years earlier, another Californian, John Hinckley Jr., who crossed the country on a Greyhound bus, attempted to assassinate president Ronald Reagan, wounding him with a single shot.

Allen walked down the hotel stairs to the mezzanine level, where the security checkpoint for the gala was located, one floor above the ballroom. He sprinted toward the checkpoint — so fast that Trump said in a Sunday interview on 60 Minutes that “the NFL should sign him up” — and was subdued by police officers near the stairwell. One officer was struck by a bullet, which was stopped by his bulletproof vest.

It was not immediately clear whether Allen, who was carrying a shotgun and a pistol, as well as several knives, fired any shots. Minutes before the attack, he sent his family a text message, which Trump described as a “manifesto.” In the roughly 1,000-word text, he apologizes to his family and cited several policies of the current administration as reasons for planning the failed attack. “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,” reads the text attributed to Cole, which was published Sunday by the tabloid New York Post.

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said Monday that she intends to convene a meeting this week with the White House operations team, the Secret Service and senior Homeland Security officials to review security protocols and best practices for large‑scale events involving Trump.

This spring and early summer are packed with important dates, including major events marking the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. This week, Washington is hosting the state visit of King Charles III of the United Kingdom, and security protocols for the occasion have been tightened in light of Saturday’s assassination attempt.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition