KS, MO leaders express relief after Trump unharmed in Washington shooting
Kansas and Missouri politicians expressed relief and praised law enforcement after President Donald Trump was unharmed when gunfire broke out Saturday at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington.
Footage of the incident shared online showed the Republican president and other top Trump administration officials being rushed from a stage as sounds of gunshots echoed through the Washington Hilton hotel Saturday evening. A California man, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, was taken into custody, but the exact target and motive of the shooting remains unclear.
Trump later addressed the incident during a press conference and a series of social media posts. He praised the law enforcement response, called being president a “dangerous profession,” and, remarkably, used the shooting to push for his long-sought, controversial ballroom proposal at the White House.
“That was very unexpected,” Trump said during the press conference. “I didn’t want to say this, but this is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House. It’s actually a larger room and it’s a much more secure. It’s got — it’s drone proof, it’s bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom.”
Lawmakers from Kansas and Missouri quickly posted about the incident throughout Saturday evening and into early Sunday. Most expressed gratitude that the president — and others in attendance at the storied dinner of top U.S. journalists and administrative officials — were safe and not injured.
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, shared that he and his wife, First Lady Claudia Kehoe, were “grateful for the safety” of Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, members of the Trump administration and “all those who attended tonight’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.”
“We are thankful for the quick response of the U.S. Secret Service and law enforcement,” Kehoe wrote on social media Saturday night. “Lives were saved because of their brave actions.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican, wrote, “Thank God the President and everyone at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner are safe.”
“I am grateful for the quick response from the United States Secret Service,” Marshall said on social media Saturday. “Praying for our nation!”
Saturday’s shooting has sparked intense speculation and fury online. The exact motive remains uncertain, but it came amid a wave of violence and attempted violence against political figures of both major U.S. parties in recent years.
Trump himself has faced previous, highly publicized assassination attempts, and conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed last year while speaking at a college in Utah. Across the aisle, Melissa Hortman, a Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker, was assassinated along with her husband last year. There was also an arson attack on the home of Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and an attack on the husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Most of the politicians who weighed in on the incident Saturday evening touted law enforcement’s response and praised quick actions from the Secret Service. However, security at the high-profile event has come under scrutiny in the wake of the shooting.
U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, a Missouri Republican, wrote that he was “incredibly thankful for the brave law enforcement officers who acted swiftly to protect” Trump and the other attendees at the dinner.
“These brave men and women put their lives on the line every day to protect our country and our nation’s leaders,” Alford wrote. “Violence, especially political violence, is never the answer. We pray for the restoration of decorum and civility into politics, and for the safety of our great nation.”
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, wrote that he was grateful for law enforcement and the Secret Service “whose quick actions kept everyone safe at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner tonight.”
Across the state line, U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, a Missouri Republican, echoed those thoughts, writing that he was, “Grateful for the quick actions of the Secret Service and law enforcement.”
“Thank God for protecting President Trump and all who were in attendance,” Graves wrote.
Saturday’s shooting has also fueled rampant online speculation from social media skeptics, who have questioned the authenticity of the incident. In one widely shared clip, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told a Fox News reporter that the president’s planned speech would be “funny” and “entertaining.”
She later added, “There will be some shots fired tonight in the room. So everyone should tune in. It’s going to be really great.”
Critics have seized on the comments in the wake of the shooting, framing them as perceived evidence of a manufactured controversy or an example of uncanny foreshadowing.
Some local politicians have pushed back on online speculation and conspiracies, including Kansas state Rep. Jo Ella Hoye, a Lenexa Democrat.
“‘False flag’ claims & mass shooting denial conspiracies are devastating to victims & survivors—but, sadly, this is nothing new,” Hoye said on social media, while also writing that political violence was unacceptable.
