Billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday (local time) responded to the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner that occurred Saturday night at the Hilton Hotel in Washington.
In a post on X, Musk wrote: “If they are willing to die to murder, imagine what they will do when they gain political power.”
His remarks came a day after 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, a California teacher, opened fire at a Hilton hotel event attended by thousands of people, including US President Donald Trump, members of his cabinet and journalists.
Read also | White House shooting LIVE: Shooter Cole sent anti-Trump manifesto, report claims
Trump reacts to the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner
According to the AP, Trump, who was at the event, responded to the incident that happened Saturday night, saying, “It’s always shocking when something like this happens. It happened to me a little bit. And that never changes.” He went on to say that he was undoubtedly the target, adding that the presidency is a “dangerous profession”.
Trump said political violence has escalated in the United States and around the world. “No country is immune,” he said. He also suggested that Saturday’s shooting was an indication of how successful his presidency had been. “I’ve studied assassinations, and I have to tell you that the people who have the most influence — the people who do the most, look at Abraham Lincoln,” Trump said. He added: “The people who make the biggest impact are the ones who go after them. They don’t go after those who don’t do much.”
Musk’s response to previous assassination attempts on Trump
In July 2024, when Trump survived the first assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, Musk endorsed the Republican incumbent in the presidential race, calling him “tough”. Musk, the world’s richest man, posted an endorsement of a video of Trump with blood on his face as multiple shots rang out. When Trump returned to the Pennsylvania assassination site again in October, Musk said he would “be there to support” Trump when the former president returns to Butler, Pennsylvania, to hold a rally at the site of the first assassination attempt against him earlier this year.
The second attempt took place in September 2024 at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida. During this time, Musk posted on X that no one was trying to kill Democrats like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Read also | Trump Butler Firing: Secret Service Knew About Threat Before Rally – GAO Report
White House Correspondents’ Association dinner shooting: Here’s what we know
Allen, a mechanical engineering graduate and teacher from California, opened fire at the Hilton hotel in what is believed to be the third assassination attempt on Trump in less than two years. A new report from the Mirror has now revealed that Allen sent the chilling manifesto to his family just 10 minutes before he opened fire at the event.
Read also | WHCA dinner shooting: Suspect legally purchased guns; here’s what we know
In a manifesto given to police by one of his relatives, Allen wrote: “Put on the other side when you yourself are oppressed. I am not the one who was raped in a concentration camp. I am not the fisherman executed without trial. I am not the blown-up schoolboy or the starving child or another teenage girl abused by someone else. Being oppressed is not Christian behavior, it is complicity in the crimes of the oppressor.”
He mocked the hotel’s lack of security, writing: “I walk in with a lot of guns and not a single person in there considers the possibility that I could be a threat,” adding: “Like if I was an Iranian agent instead of an American citizen, I could bring the damn Ma Deuce here and no one would notice. Crazy, actually.”
The suspect was immediately subdued and law enforcement officials began an investigation, with searches being conducted in Washington and Southern California.
Key things
- Political violence is on the rise in the United States, raising concerns among prominent figures.
- Elon Musk and Donald Trump reacted to the shooting, with Trump reflecting on the dangers of political life.
- The incident highlights the urgent need for increased security measures at public events involving political figures.
