Waymo wants to put fully driverless cars on Washington, D.C.&#8217;s streets, but a source close to the White House is questioning whether its technology can handle the capital&#8217;s security demands and raising concerns about its use of Chinese-built vehicles.
In Dallas, police and Secret Service personnel had to push a Waymo out of the way after it stopped in an intersection and blocked a presidential motorcade.
“The RNC incident proves they&#8217;re not ready for prime time,” the source told The Daily Wire.
Financial Times correspondent Joe Miller was riding in a Waymo to the Republican midterm convention when the vehicle stopped in an intersection where police officers were directing traffic, blocking a presidential motorcade.
“I need this vehicle to be out of here now, or it will be crushed,” a Secret Service agent <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9cc479a6-8206-4af3-a6e5-77176b8d43c4?syn-25a6b1a6=1">told</a> Miller. Secret Service personnel and police officers ultimately pushed the Waymo out of the way, Miller said.
A Waymo spokesperson told The Daily Wire that the vehicle recognized an officer’s hand gestures directing it to turn right across multiple lanes of traffic. Because of the maneuver’s complexity, however, it was programmed to seek remote assistance before proceeding. The spokesperson said Waymo is working to reduce its reliance on that assistance.
The source questioned how Waymo would navigate D.C., where motorcades and sudden street closures are routine.
“I can’t fathom a scenario in which they’d welcome DC streets being used as a testing ground for unproven Chinese-manufactured cars who have yet to master being able to adapt to the frequent and spontaneous events like the routine use of motorcades,” the source said. “This sounds like a dangerous idea that’s not ready for the unique challenges that exist in our nation’s capital.”
The source also said the use of Chinese-manufactured vehicles would likely raise security concerns within the administration.
“These things are covered in cameras, and now you’re gonna send them around all the most sensitive national monuments, national security sites, without the ability to recognize the President needs to be extricated from a situation like we saw at the correspondent’s dinner,” the source said.
Waymo&#8217;s spokesperson distinguished between where the vehicles are manufactured and where their autonomous driving technology is installed. The company equips its Chinese-built vehicles with its proprietary driving system at a facility in Arizona, where computers and sensors are assembled and installed, and software is loaded before the vehicles are sent to other markets.
The spokesperson said Waymo complies with all applicable U.S. laws and federal requirements and has a strong commercial incentive to protect its technology from Chinese competitors seeking to expand into markets such as Europe. 
Waymo’s plans for fully driverless service in Washington depend on changes to District law. Currently, autonomous vehicle testing on District streets requires a human operator behind the wheel, ready to take control. A bill before the D.C. Council would establish a framework allowing robotaxis to operate without a human backup driver. 
Councilmember Charles Allen, who introduced the bill, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2026/07/16/waymo-really-wants-operate-dc-does-dc-want-waymo/">told</a> The Washington Post that Waymo has mounted an extensive lobbying campaign to enter the D.C. market. 
“I think they’ve hired every lobbyist in D.C.,” Allen told the Post. “They have been knocking on my door for years.”

Waymo

Is DC Too Wild For Waymo? Motorcade Mishap Raises Concerns

autonomous vehicle

china

presidential motorcade

secret service

washington dc

waymo

Trump Butler

FBI Dumps Bizarre New Details About Trump Assassination Attempt. What Else Are They Hiding?

assassination attempt

butler pennsylvania

kash patel

politics

thomas crooks

The man who nearly assassinated President Donald Trump during a 2024 campaign rally in Pennsylvania used the name of a former Republican senator when making online purchases for the weapon used in the attack. 
Thomas Crooks ordered gun parts from online websites using the name of the late Kansas Senator Bob Dole, <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/09/14/us-news/would-be-trump-assassin-thomas-crooks-used-bob-dole-pseudonym-to-prep-for-butler-shooting/">according</a> to FBI records reviewed by the New York Post. Crooks was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper on July 13, 2024, after he opened fire at a Trump rally in Butler, grazing the president in the ear and killing one of his supporters. 
The FBI <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-drops-major-news-about-would-be-trump-assassin-thomas-crooks?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=FBI+Works+To+Shut+Down+Online+Theories+About+Thomas+Crooks%3A+%E2%80%98We+Are+Very+Confident%E2%80%99">concluded</a> last year that Crooks acted alone and had no foreign or domestic assistance.
Crooks, 20, still lived at home at the time of his attack on the president. Crooks&#8217; body was cremated less than two weeks after the attack, drawing objections from lawmakers. That cremation was paid for by an “anonymous donor,” <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/09/15/us-news/cremation-of-would-be-trump-assassin-thomas-matthew-crooks-paid-for-by-anonymous-donor/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=nypost">according</a> to the FBI files. 
Interviews conducted with Matthew Crooks, the father of the would-be assassin, reveal new details about the young man who came within inches of murdering Trump. 
In the interview, Matthew told investigators that his son was not very political and did not express many emotions. Matthew said that Thomas started picking up target shooting in high school, according to the files viewed by the Post. 
Matthew told the FBI that he “never really had a father/son bond” and that Thomas was always quiet and kept to himself. He said this persona became “more noticeable over the years” and that he “never showed interest in girls.”
“When Thomas was born, he did not scream and he was always quiet from that point on,” he told interviewers. 
Crooks did maintain an interest in guns and started going to the range. Matthew described his son as a “terrible” shot and said that he initially “could not hit paper” targets. As he improved, he started “going out so far” and told his father “he wanted to see how far he could shoot with rudimentary sights.”
At one point, Crooks created a homemade handgun “using carbon fiber plastic, a dryer, and a toaster oven.” 
Six days before the shooting, Matthew <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/09/15/us-news/would-be-trump-assassin-thomas-crooks-gun-obsession-detailed-in-federal-documents/">said</a> he saw his son in their garage cleaning his gun while waving his “arms going up and down … frantically talking and not making any sense.&#8221; The day of the shooting, Matthew said he thought his son was going to the range and gave him his rifle. 
The packages Crooks ordered under the fake name included “parts, tools, and items to increase the capacity of his rifle,” Matthew told the FBI.
Crooks used the fake name as he was concerned about online hacking. Crooks also directed his parents to use VPNs for online security and recommended several he claimed were “less likely to be compromised by outside actors.” 
While Crooks was a registered Republican, his most recent political donation went to a leftist group called Progressive Turnout Project in 2021. 
“Thomas called himself a Republican. Thomas did not like the welfare state and was against the ‘woke’ ideology but never really espoused the Republican ideology,” said Matthew, who was unaware of the donation. 
Matthew added that his son “did not believe the 2020 presidential election was rigged&#8221; and disliked most politicians. 
The FBI said in November 2025 that Crooks did not leave behind a manifesto of any kind and that he acted alone. 
“We fully briefed the president, as a victim of this case, at the White House, providing him with all of the details of our investigation, and the president was satisfied with the results and where we left it,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. 
There are still major questions about the incident, including how the Secret Service failed to secure the scene and let Crooks take an uncontested shot at Trump from just 150 yards away.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-VOTE

New FBI Files Reveal Chilling Details About Wannabe Trump Assassin

donald trump

Police responded to former Vice President Kamala Harris&#8217; Malibu home late Friday night after a woman trespassed onto the property, left, and then came back a second time, <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2026/09/12/kamala-harris-home-targeted-in-trespass-incident/">according</a> to TMZ.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s Department <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/kamala-harris/alleged-trespasser-stopped-kamala-harris-malibu-home-rcna597427">told</a> NBC News deputies were dispatched around 10:30 p.m. Friday after Harris&#8217; private security team flagged a &#8220;suspicious person&#8221; on the grounds of the $8.15 million estate. Officials said the unidentified woman had been dropped off nearby by an Uber before approaching the residence and making contact with security personnel, who told her she could not remain on the property. She initially left, but returned a short time later, prompting the call to law enforcement.
When deputies arrived, they made contact with the woman, who was still outside the residence, and advised her to leave. She did so voluntarily, and no arrest or citation was made. The sheriff&#8217;s department said it took a trespassing report and would set up patrols in the area as a precaution. It remains unclear why the woman came to the property or why she returned after being turned away.
Neither Harris nor her husband, Doug Emhoff, was home when the incident occurred. Harris spokesman Eduardo Negrón <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2026/09/12/kamala-harris-home-targeted-in-trespass-incident/">told</a> TMZ the couple was grateful for the swift response from security and law enforcement, and characterized the woman as having illegally entered the property before being intercepted short of the house itself.
Harris purchased the four-bedroom, six-bathroom Malibu property in January, and it sits on roughly three-quarters of an acre with ocean views, a pool and spa, <a href="https://www.aol.com/news/kamala-harris-8m-gated-malibu-232626768.html">according</a> to the New York Post. She no longer has Secret Service protection; President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/29/politics/kamala-harris-secret-service-canceled-trump-biden">revoked</a> her detail last year, cutting short an extension President Joe Biden had authorized before leaving office. Former vice presidents are ordinarily entitled to six months of Secret Service coverage after leaving office.
The Malibu incident follows a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/lapd-responds-kamala-harris-california-home-palisades-fire-evacuation-zone-2-men-detained-reports">similar episode</a> in January 2025, when two men were briefly detained near Harris&#8217; former Brentwood home during a curfew tied to the Los Angeles wildfires after an initial report of a possible burglary. Investigators found no evidence of a burglary in that case, and the men were held only for a curfew violation.

Kamala Harris And Cory Booker Speak At Michigan Democratic Luncheon In Detroit

Mystery Woman Prowls Kamala Harris’ Malibu Mansion Until Cops Intervene

doug emhoff

kamala harris

malibu

trespassing

Netflix is rolling out the red carpet for the latest entry in media navel-gazing: a documentary detailing the absolute &#8220;horror&#8221; of reporters being left on a plane with the window shades lowered.
The streaming giant announced Tuesday that &#8220;Instadocs: The Decoy Plane&#8221; will premiere Friday, September 4. The documentary examines the July incident where the Secret Service pulled off a slick maneuver in Ankara, Turkey. Facing credible assassination threats from Iran against President Donald Trump, security officials quietly shuttled the commander-in-chief off Air Force One via a catering truck and onto a secure military transport plane.
Left behind on the main 747 was the White House press pool, blissfully unaware that Trump wasn&#8217;t aboard, only to erupt in a collective panic upon realizing they’d played the role of unwitting decoys. <a href="https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/instadocs-the-decoy-plane-what-to-know">According</a> to Netflix, &#8220;a plane full of reporters and the public they answer to were left flying blind.&#8221;
The documentary promises &#8220;firsthand accounts&#8221; from shell-shocked journalists detailing their harrowing experience. One AP photographer dramatically recounted shooting &#8220;the sh*t out of&#8221; a catering truck before receiving the horrifying command to pull down his window shade, instantly triggering his &#8220;spidey sense.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This July, while flying back from a NATO summit in Turkey, President Trump slipped off Air Force One in a catering truck and secretly boarded a different aircraft — leaving traveling reporters to fly on, unaware the president was no longer with them.
Instadocs: The Decoy Plane,… <a href="https://t.co/iuADnXxMoV">pic.twitter.com/iuADnXxMoV</a>
&mdash; Netflix (@netflix) <a href="https://x.com/netflix/status/2094779811935715344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Other reporters have <a href="https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/trump-air-force-one-decoy-reporters-threat/#:~:text=The%20New%20York%20Times'%20Maggie%20Haberman%2C%20Eric,staff%20members%2C%20to%20serve%20as%20unknowing%20decoys.%E2%80%9D">openly whined</a> about being treated as &#8220;expendable,&#8221; while the White House Correspondents’ Association fired off private notes wringing their hands over &#8220;press safety&#8221; and reporting integrity.
Because if there’s one thing the White House press corps excels at, it’s making a life-saving military operation all about themselves.
Enter reality.
Former Clinton military aide Lt. Col. Robert &#8220;Buzz&#8221; Patterson <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/man-carried-clinton-nuclear-football-reveals-scares-hell-air-force-one-story">torched</a> the media’s melodramatic narrative, calling the Secret Service’s high-stakes shell game &#8220;brilliant&#8221; and routine.
Patterson pointed out that presidential decoys, stealth plane swaps, and catering-truck tactics are standard operating procedures administrations have used for decades, including Clinton’s, to protect the presidency in high-threat environments. He scoffed at the media&#8217;s safety outrage, noting the decoy jet carried senior Cabinet officials, full Air Force crews, and was escorted by U.S. fighter jets.
&#8220;We do it all the time,&#8221; Patterson said, warning that the media&#8217;s hyperventilating and dangerous leaks about classified security protocols actually put future presidents and military personnel in harm&#8217;s way. He stated, &#8220;I hope that they prosecute this to the fullest. Whoever leaked that, in my opinion, and having been involved in this, was highly placed in that process. There’s only a few people who actually know exactly what’s going down, and that’s by design. So if somebody leaked it, it was somebody involved in the process, and that scares the hell out of me.&#8221;
While the press corps treats a routine, successful counter-threat operation like a traumatic thriller, Netflix is more than happy to cash in on the drama.
Don&#8217;t forget to close your window shades.

CORRECTION / TURKEY-NATO-SUMMIT-DEFENCE

The Crying Game: Netflix Announces Doc On Reporters Left ‘Flying Blind’ Aboard Trump’s Decoy Plane

media bias

netflix

white house correspondents association

A heavily armed intruder <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/armed-man-arrested-outside-trump-golf-course-ahead-of-presidents-visit">caught</a> lurking around President Donald Trump’s California golf resort earlier this month carried a handwritten blueprint detailing first lady Melania Trump&#8217;s private schedules and confidential Secret Service security routes, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/armed-man-arrested-trump-golf-course-allegedly-first-ladys-schedule-notes-secret-service">reports</a>.
Jeanine John Taele, 38, was arrested on August 2 by plainclothes federal agents while prowling the grounds of the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes. The 38-year-old Marine veteran was caught snapping photos, filming, and tracking security preparations just before President Trump was supposed to appear at a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-08-04/armed-suspect-arrested-at-trumps-rancho-palos-verdes-golf-course-in-advance-of-presidents-visit">Republican fundraising event</a>.
Deputies found a 16-round magazine stuffed with hollow-point bullets crammed into Taele’s pants pocket. A nearby search of his vehicle parked at the club uncovered a loaded pistol along with additional high-capacity ammunition. Taele told authorities he was a State Department employee assigned to a top-secret security detail.
Investigators revealed in Los Angeles County court on Wednesday that they had seized seven alarming notebooks crammed with 208 pages of hand-drawn sketches, maps of the golf club, survivalist manifestos, confidential profiles on individual Secret Service agents, and precise details of Melania Trump’s personal calendar, The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/08/26/us-news/gun-suspect-at-trump-golf-course-had-hundreds-of-secret-service-notes/">reported</a>.
Taele&#8217;s home yielded a well-stocked personal arsenal: an illegally modified, military-style AR-platform rifle, another handgun, body armor, stockpiles of bulk ammunition, radio signal devices, and notes containing sinister writings.
Just days prior to Taele’s arrest, the Secret Service launched a <a href="https://people.com/melania-and-barron-trump-targeted-for-assassination-in-iran-linked-video-12030305">full-scale probe</a> into a frightening assassination video produced by Iranian regime propagandists. The animated video, titled Where to Kill Melania, outlined Manhattan shopping areas frequented by the first lady and her 20-year-old son, Barron, even providing viewers step-by-step instructions on executing an attack.
L.A. County Judge John Lonergan Jr. suspended criminal proceedings against Taele, citing a pretrial evaluation that stated Taele was mentally unfit to stand trial. Lonergan stated, &#8220;This case itself is alarming in this day and age with the violence that is creeping into our everyday lives, especially with our partisanship in the political environment.”
The judge sent Taele to Hollywood Mental Health Court, ordering him held behind bars until a September 9 hearing.
Taele’s public defender told reporters that his client served his country in Iraq and Afghanistan and enjoys strong family support.
President Trump appeared unfazed by the incident.
&#8220;The only thing I get a little solace from is, they say only consequential presidents. And I am definitely consequential,&#8221; he said.

President Trump Attends The Inaugural Freedom 250 Grand Prix In Washington DC

Trump Golf Course Intruder Had Chilling Intel On Melania

assassination threat

melania trump

trump national golf club

President Donald Trump responded to the latest potential threat against his life with a notably upbeat reaction during his first public comments on the incident.  
“Well the only thing I get a little solace from is they say only consequential presidents [are targeted for assassination] and I am definitely consequential,” Trump said when asked by Fox News&#8217;s Trace Gallagher about the ongoing concerns over assassination threats. The remarks were Trump&#8217;s first public comments on the incident and were notably briefer than his responses to previous threats.
The Secret Service is investigating whether the armed man arrested outside of Trump’s National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, on Sunday intended to harm the president. 
Jeanine John Taele, 38, was arrested after FBI agents allegedly <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/04/armed-man-arrested-before-trump-fundraising-dinner-california-01024955" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> him carrying a 16-round magazine in his pocket.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Taele was also seen taking photographs and videos near the property.
If investigators determine that Taele was targeting Trump, it would mark the third widely reported threat involving the president this year, following the Secret Service&#8217;s fatal shooting of an armed individual carrying a shotgun and gas canister near Mar-a-Lago and the arrest of a man who breached security at the White House Correspondents&#8217; Dinner.
Before 2026, President Trump survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, when a gunman grazed his ear with a bullet. Weeks later, another armed suspect was discovered hiding with a rifle near Trump International Golf Club in Florida before authorities said he could carry out an attack.
Trump said he considers himself &#8220;consequential&#8221; because of his handling of the economy and Iran. 
Trump&#8217;s comments come after the Justice Department in 2024 <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-murder-hire-and-related-charges-against-irgc-asset-and-two">charged</a> Farhad Shakeri, whom prosecutors identified as an asset of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in connection with an alleged murder-for-hire plot that included plans to assassinate President Trump.

President Trump Hosts Cabinet Meeting At Camp David

Trump Says One Thing Sets Him Apart After Latest Security Scare

iran

Authorities arrested an armed man outside President Donald Trump&#8217;s Southern California golf course ahead of the president&#8217;s scheduled visit Tuesday, officials announced. 
Jeanine John Taele, 38, was arrested Sunday outside Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes after FBI agents allegedly <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/04/armed-man-arrested-before-trump-fundraising-dinner-california-01024955">found</a> him carrying a 16-round magazine in his pocket. 
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Taele was also seen taking photographs and videos near the property.
After executing a search warrant at his home in Downey on Monday, investigators said they discovered a notebook containing what they described as “concerning statements,&#8221; body armor, firearms, and ammunition. In a search of his car, authorities found a loaded pistol and loaded magazine. 
The Secret Service is <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/04/us/trump-golf-course-armed-man-arrested">reportedly</a> investigating whether Taele posed a threat to the president.  
White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said Trump traveled to California Tuesday to highlight what the administration views as the contrast between Republican and Democrat leadership. Trump is expected to attend a Republican National Committee dinner at the club Tuesday evening.
“The President will draw a sharp contrast between his commonsense agenda and the radical policies of Democrats like Gavin Newsom, who keep raising taxes, inviting rampant fraud in taxpayer-funded programs, and protecting illegal immigrant drug dealers, rapists, and murderers,” Wales said. 
The sheriff’s department emphasized that there is “no credible threat to our communities.”

President Trump Arrives At Los Angeles International Airport

Armed Man Arrested Outside Trump Golf Course Ahead Of President’s Visit

gavin newsom

rancho palos verdes

The Secret Service <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/secret-service-glimpse-whca-dinner-security-alleged-trump-assassination-attempt">said</a> security will be significantly increased for Friday night&#8217;s rescheduled White House Correspondents&#8217; Association Dinner, nearly three months after prosecutors say an armed California man attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump and other administration officials during the annual event.
The dinner, which first took place on April 25 at the Washington Hilton, was interrupted after authorities say Cole Allen descended from the hotel&#8217;s 10th floor, attempted to breach security barriers, and fired a shotgun before he was taken down by a Secret Service agent and quickly detained. One Secret Service officer was struck by gunfire and suffered minor injuries.
Friday evening&#8217;s WHCD at the Waldorf Astoria on Pennsylvania Avenue marks the first time in decades that the event has not taken place at the Washington Hilton. 
Friday night&#8217;s event, including Trump&#8217;s speech, will be streamed live on The Daily Wire.
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-promises-unifying-yet-vicious-trump-speech-at-rescheduled-whcd?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=White+House+Promises+%E2%80%98Unifying+Yet+Vicious%E2%80%99+Trump+Speech+At+Rescheduled+WHCD">reported</a> by Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan, the Secret Service said on Friday that it is committed to ensuring the safety and security of the dinner, sharing that “Secret Service personnel have been in collaboration with the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA), hotel security, and law enforcement partners at the federal and local level.”
Guests should expect to see a “visible police presence around the Waldorf Astoria hotel,” Anthony Guglielmi, U.S. Secret Service chief of communications said on Friday. Guglielmi added that there will be enhanced traffic closures due to the location of the event. All dinner guests will also have to go through “airport-style magnetometer screening.&#8221;
“We are confident that our robust security plan will ensure the safety of our protectees and attendees, just as our plan did in April,” Guglielmi said. “Our agency grows and adapts from every event we secure, and we have engaged with WHCA to ensure attendees are given timely information in the unlikely event on an emergency during the event.”
The heightened security comes as the Secret Service faces a surge in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/10000-secret-service-threats-prove-lefts-violent-rhetoric-has-consequences">threats</a> against the people it protects. Secret Service Director Sean Curran said this week that the agency investigated approximately 10,000 threats involving its protectees, including Trump, during the first half of 2026. Curran said the number was unlike anything he had seen in his 24 years with the agency. By comparison, the Secret Service opened roughly 7,000 threat cases during the first half of 2025.
According to the Secret Service, guests will enter the ballroom through a separate entrance rather than the hotel&#8217;s main lobby. 
&#8220;Guests will see a visible police presence around the Waldorf Astoria hotel and there will be enhanced traffic closures due to proximity to major thoroughfares,&#8221; Guglielmi said. &#8220;All ticketed guests will go through airport-style magnetometer screening to enter the event.&#8221;
He added that roads immediately surrounding the hotel will be closed Friday evening and that ticket holders will receive specific arrival instructions before the event. Each ticket will also be screened by event staff before guests proceed through Secret Service security.
The move to the Waldorf Astoria will also result in a much smaller event than in previous years. The Washington Hilton, which has traditionally hosted the dinner, can accommodate more than 4,000 attendees in one of the District&#8217;s largest ballrooms. By comparison, the Waldorf Astoria ballroom has a maximum banquet capacity of about 1,300 guests.
The White House Correspondents&#8217; Association will also honor Secret Service Police Officer Victor Gonzales during Friday night&#8217;s dinner for his actions during the April shooting. Gonzales was wounded while responding to the attack and will receive the association&#8217;s President&#8217;s Award for Exceptional Service.
&#8220;The WHCA is deeply grateful that law enforcement officials prevented the armed suspect from entering the ballroom,&#8221; WHCA President Weijia Jiang of CBS News said in a statement.
&#8220;Officer Gonzales played a significant role when he ran toward danger so that thousands of others could make it home safely. His courage stemmed from a dedication to service, which we are looking forward to honoring this week.&#8221;
Surveillance video released by the Department of Justice shows Allen walking through hallways inside the Washington Hilton before the shooting. Another video shows Allen allegedly charge a security barricade before shots were fired. Allen remains in federal custody in Washington, D.C. while awaiting trial on four charges.

Secret Service

Inside The Secret Service’s New Security Plan For WHCD

Security

White House Correspondents’ Dinner

WASHINGTON — The rescheduled White House Correspondents Dinner will take place Friday evening in Washington, D.C., months after an assassin tried to barge into the event and target the president and top conservatives.
Friday&#8217;s White House Correspondents Dinner will take place at the Waldorf Astoria, formerly Trump Hotel, in downtown D.C. — &#8220;a Building and Ballroom that I built,&#8221; as the president said in a Truth Social post earlier this summer.
&#8220;I was asked to be there, and speak, by Weijia Jiang, President of The White House Correspondents’ Association, and have accepted,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;I don’t know whether or not I will give the same rather nasty statements, at least as it concerns certain people, but we will soon find out.&#8221;
Friday night&#8217;s event, including Trump&#8217;s speech, will be streamed live on The Daily Wire.
The previous dinner was held at the Washington Hilton, where, on April 25, a shooter named Cole Tomas Allen attempted to charge into the event and open fire on multiple top Trump administration officials, according to federal prosecutors.
Karoline Leavitt promised from the briefing room podium on Thursday that Trump &#8220;looks forward to finishing what he started&#8221; before the assassination attempt, encouraging Americans to &#8220;tune in, for what promises to be a very entertaining and memorable evening.&#8221;
“The president’s speech will be a combination of unifying yet vicious, and serious yet hilarious, all at the same time, if you can imagine that,&#8221; Leavitt added on Friday. &#8220;One thing I can assure you, it will be entertaining.”
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_1143005" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-promises-unifying-yet-vicious-trump-speech-at-rescheduled-whcd/mentalist-oz-pearlman-hosts-the-white-house-correspondents-dinner-3" rel="attachment wp-att-1143005"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1143005" class="wp-image-1143005 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2273150972-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2273150972-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2273150972-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2273150972-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2273150972.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Karoline Leavitt, Melania Trump, Donald Trump, and Weijia Jiang attend The White House Correspondents Dinner at Washington Hilton on April 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for OP)</div>
The Secret Service told The Daily Wire on Friday that it is committed to ensuring the safety and security of the dinner, sharing that &#8220;Secret Service personnel have been in collaboration with the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA), hotel security, and law enforcement partners at the federal and local level.&#8221;
Guests should expect to see a &#8220;visible police presence around the Waldorf Astoria hotel,&#8221; Anthony Guglielmi, U.S. Secret Service chief of communications, shared on Friday, noting that there will be enhanced traffic closures due to the location of the event.
All guests of the dinner will have to go through &#8220;airport-style magnetometer screening,&#8221; and the roads around the Waldorf will be closed on Friday.
&#8220;We are confident that our robust security plan will ensure the safety of our protectees and attendees, just as our plan did in April,&#8221; Guglielmi said. &#8220;Our agency grows and adapts from every event we secure, and we have engaged with WHCA to ensure attendees are given timely information in the unlikely event on an emergency during the event.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1142985" style="width: 972px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-promises-unifying-yet-vicious-trump-speech-at-rescheduled-whcd/gunshots-fired-in-lobby-of-hotel-hosting-the-white-house-correspondents-dinner-with-president-trump-2" rel="attachment wp-att-1142985"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1142985" class="wp-image-1142985 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2273134809-962x576.jpg" alt="" width="962" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2273134809-962x576.jpg 962w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2273134809-300x180.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2273134809-768x460.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2273134809.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 962px) 100vw, 962px" /></a>This image shows Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the shooting incident in Washington at the annual White House Correspondents&#8217; Association Dinner, while in his hotel room at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC, on April 25, 2026. (Photo by U.S. Department of Justice/Getty Images)</div>
Weijia Jiang, the outgoing president of the White House Correspondents Association, said Friday night&#8217;s dinner will not only be an opportunity to actually hold the dinner, but it will also be &#8220;a statement that violence has no place in American life and a free press will not be intimidated into silence.&#8221;
&#8220;As you have all demonstrated, courage and community can and should rise above,&#8221; Jiang told the White House press in an emailed statement.
Authorities indicted accused assassin Allen on four charges: attempting to assassinate the president, assault on an officer of the United States with a deadly weapon, transporting a firearm, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
He is the fourth known person to attempt to assassinate Trump in the past two years. Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Trump during his Butler, Pennsylvania rally in July 2024, Ryan Wesley Routh attempted to shoot Trump on September 15, 2024, and Austin Tucker Martin was shot and killed by authorities as he attempted to breach Mar-a-Lago in February 2026. Crooks was also killed by authorities, and Routh is serving a life sentence in prison.

President Trump Attends The White House Correspondents’ Dinner

White House Promises ‘Unifying Yet Vicious’ Trump Speech At Rescheduled WHCD

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The threats to President Donald Trump and his administration are growing rapidly.
The Secret Service has investigated approximately 10,000 threats against its protectees, including President Trump, in the first half of this year, the head of the agency revealed Wednesday, <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/23/us-news/threats-to-us-officials-reach-unprecedented-numbers-ahead-of-rescheduled-white-house-correspondents-dinner-secret-service-boss-says/">according</a> to The New York Post.
“The numbers are numbers that this agency and certainly I have never seen in my 24-year career,” Secret Service Director Sean Curran told reporters, painting a chilling picture of an increasingly hostile political environment. In the first half of 2025, the agency opened roughly 7,000 cases.
The alarming surge comes ahead of Friday night’s rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., which was forced to move after suspect Cole Allen stormed an April checkpoint packed with guns and knives, allegedly hellbent on killing Trump and other administration officials.
Curran defended the security apparatus, insisting “the system worked” when agents stopped Allen before he could make it in the ballroom. Yet, the relentless barrage of target-painting on the president’s back raises urgent questions about the toxic political atmosphere.
The Secret Service’s massive threat log arrives after years of terrifying, real-world attempts on Trump’s life. From a 2016 gun-grab attempt in Las Vegas and a 2017 forklift ramming attack in North Dakota, to the horrific July 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania, rally shooting, and Ryan Routh’s Florida golf course ambush, the dangers have hit unprecedented highs. Add in thwarted international assassination schemes from Iran and ISIS, and the target on Trump remains massive.
In the meantime, Left-wing rhetoric is pouring gasoline on the fire.
Democrat leaders have repeatedly branded Trump an &#8220;existential threat,&#8221; a &#8220;fascist,&#8221; and an &#8220;authoritarian.&#8221; Former President Joe Biden once boasted he’d take Trump &#8220;behind the gym and beat the hell out of him,&#8221; and infamously <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/biden-says-it-was-mistake-to-say-he-wanted-to-put-bulls-eye-on-trump-during-donor-phone-call">declared</a> &#8220;it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye&#8221; in a phone call with donors right before the Butler shooting. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) publicly egged on mobs to harass administration officials, telling crowds, &#8220;You push back on them &#8230; tell them they&#8217;re not welcome.&#8221;
The hostile drumbeat from top Democrats has only grown louder:
<ul>
<li>House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) <a href="https://floridapolitics.com/archives/792200-maximum-warfare-hakeem-jeffries-promises-dems-will-target-8-gop-incumbents-in-florida-if-redistricting-happens/#:~:text=House%20Minority%20Leader%20Hakeem%20Jeffries%20is%20threatening,statement%20shared%20by%20Punchbowl%20News'%20Jake%20Sherman.">called</a> for “maximum warfare” just days before the April WHCD attack.</li>
<li>Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) <a href="https://iqconnect.house.gov/iqextranet/view_newsletter.aspx?id=172352&amp;c=FL13VB#:~:text=Schumer%20claimed%20in%20his%20interview%20with%20MSNBC's,do.%20That's%20what%20tyranny%20is%20all%20about.%22">urged</a> supporters to &#8220;be forcefully rising up against&#8221; the president.</li>
<li>California Governor Gavin Newsom bluntly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/24/no-holds-barred-fight-californias-governor-takes-off-his-gloves-to-punch-back-at-trump#:~:text=But%20then%20Trump%20came%20for%20California%2C%20and,Newsom%20said%20on%20a%20podcast%20last%20week.">told his base</a> to “punch these sons of b*tches in the mouth.”</li>
<li>Illinois Governor JB Pritzker <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/28/jb-pritzker-speech#:~:text=Joseph%20Gedeon%20in%20Washington.%20Mon%2028%20Apr,filled%20with%20Democratic%20activists%2C%20officials%20and%20donors.">proclaimed</a> that “Republicans cannot know a moment of peace.”</li>
<li>Minnesota Governor Tim Walz went so far as to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/tim-walz-trump-administration-ice-enforcement-republicans/">declare</a> his state is “at war with our federal government.”</li>
</ul>
Most threats originate online, but as the 10,000-case milestone proves, the leap from online hate to real-world violence is closer than ever.

BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA – July 13: Former president Donald Trump r

10,000 Secret Service Threats Prove Left’s Violent Rhetoric Has Consequences

Death Threats

Democrats

hakeem jeffries

J.B. Pritzker

joe biden

josh shapiro

tim walz

A barrage of gunfire erupted steps from the White House on Saturday after a suspect pulled a weapon and opened fire on Secret Service officers at a nearby checkpoint. Agents returned fire, killing the suspect.
“A preliminary investigation indicates that as the individual approached, he removed a weapon from his bag and began firing at posted officers,” the U.S. Secret Service said in a <a href="https://x.com/SecretSvcSpox/status/2058341552234115202?s=20">statement.</a> “Secret Service police officers returned fire, hitting the suspect, who was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died.”
The New York Post is reporting the guy who started shooting is 21-year-old Nasire Best.
<div class="nyp-slideshow-modal-image__wrapper"><a title="Open a slideshow of all 11 article images." href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/23/us-news/white-house-on-lockdown-after-dozens-of-shots-fired/#" aria-controls="nyp-slideshow-modal" data-slideshow-modal="trigger" aria-label="Open a slideshow of all 11 article images." data-slideshow-slide-number="1" data-slideshow-slides-total="11"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-39470813" src="https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?w=809" sizes=" (max-width: 466px) 100vw, 466px" srcset="https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1070w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=237,300&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 237w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=768,973&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 768w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=809,1024&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 809w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=474,600&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 474w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=465,589&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 465w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=392,496&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 392w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=509,644&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 509w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=388,491&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 388w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=223,282&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 223w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=163,206&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 163w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=56,71&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 56w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=32,40&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 32w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=55,70&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 55w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=43,54&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 43w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=158,200&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 158w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=231,293&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 231w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=322,408&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 322w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=300,380&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 300w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=348,441&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 348w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=47,60&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 47w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=63,80&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 63w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=46,58&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 46w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=123,156&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 123w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/superior-court-district-columbia-criminal-128614615.jpg?resize=39,50&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 39w" alt="Obtained by the NY Post Nasir Best, 21, opened fire on a White House checkpoint on Saturday evening." width="466" height="590" /></a></div>
He used a revolver and only got off a few shots before he was quickly shot and killed in a hail of bullets from federal officers.
While authorities have not confirmed a motive, sources told The New York Post that Best is believed to be mentally troubled, allegedly claimed to be Jesus Christ, and was already known to the Secret Service. Sources also said he had previously violated a court order requiring him to stay away from the White House.
A bystander was also hit during the shooting, though investigators say it remains unclear whether the person was hit by the suspect’s gunfire or during the “subsequent exchange of gunfire.”
<div id="attachment_1101169" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1101169" class="wp-image-1101169 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2277366955-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2277366955-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2277366955-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2277366955-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2277366955-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2277366955-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2277366955-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2277366955-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)</div>
Around 6 p.m., reporters gathered on the White House North Lawn were suddenly rushed into the briefing room after hearing what sounded like nearly 30 gunshots nearby.
“I was in the middle of taping on my iPhone for a social video from the White House North Lawn when we heard the shots. It sounded like dozens of gunshots. We were told to sprint to the press briefing room where we are holding now,” <a href="https://x.com/selinawangtv/status/2058312115098697760">ABC reporter Selina Wang</a> posted on X.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="LISTEN: Reporter hides as barrage of gunshots erupts outside White House" width="422" height="750" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4KblC3jmce0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The Secret Service said none of its officers were injured during the shooting and confirmed that President Donald Trump “was at the White House during the incident but was not impacted.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said federal agents are assisting with the investigation.
<a href="https://x.com/OpenSourceZone/status/2058317467391255004?s=20">More dramatic video</a> showed U.S. Secret Service agents shouting at reporters to evacuate their camera positions.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Secret Service orders members of the press to abandon their reporting pods on the north lawn of the White House and go toward the briefing room after dozens of shots were heard nearby
Via <a href="https://twitter.com/NewsNation?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NewsNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/XDPJhCybVP">https://t.co/XDPJhCybVP</a> <a href="https://t.co/rPTGsgCGZz">pic.twitter.com/rPTGsgCGZz</a>
— OSZ (@OpenSourceZone) <a href="https://twitter.com/OpenSourceZone/status/2058317467391255004?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2026</a>
<div id="attachment_1101167" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1101167" class="wp-image-1101167 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2277366620-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2277366620-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2277366620-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2277366620-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2277366620-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2277366620-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2277366620.jpg 1621w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Ulysse BELLIER / AFP via Getty Images)</div></blockquote>
The shooting came roughly an hour after Trump announced that a deal aimed at ending the conflict with Iran was close to being finalized.
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