Trump calls presidency 'dangerous profession,' says shooting will not 'deter' him from Iran war

President Donald Trump on Saturday (25 April) described the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner and compared it with the 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, while reflecting on security response, confusion during the incident and the risks faced by public officials.

He said the shooting will not deter him from the Iran war, although he believed the incident is unlikely to be linked to the conflict.

During his press conference shortly after the incident, Trump recounted the initial moments as unclear and noisy, saying, "I heard a noise… I thought it was a tray going down… it was a pretty loud noise from quite far away."

He said reactions among those present varied in the early seconds of the event, adding, "Some people really understood that pretty quickly, other people didn't."

He said his own response unfolded as the situation developed. "I was watching to see what was happening… probably should have gone down even faster," he said. Trump also pointed to the role of First Lady Melania Trump during the incident, saying, "Melania was very cognisant… I think she knew immediately what happened."

Comparing the response to the Butler attack, Trump reiterated his view that security performance had improved in the later incident, while acknowledging lessons from the earlier attempt.

Trump used both events to highlight what he described as the vulnerability of prominent political figures. "The people that do the most… they're the ones that they go after," he said, adding, "The people that make the biggest impact… they're the big names."

He also said, "I hate to say I'm honoured by that, but I've done a lot," while pointing to his record in office. "We've taken this country… from being a laughingstock… to the hottest country anywhere in the world."

He further framed the attacks as part of a broader pattern of threats faced by high-profile leaders, referencing previous attempts in addition to Butler and an incident in Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump also reflected on the presidency as an unusually dangerous role, saying, "Nobody told me this was such a dangerous profession."

He added, "It's a dangerous profession… I can't imagine there's any profession that's more dangerous," and suggested he might have reconsidered running had he been fully aware of the risks, saying, "If Marco would have told me, maybe I wouldn't have run." Despite that, he said, "I'm here to do a job… it's part of the job."

Discussing security challenges, Trump said threats can be unpredictable and difficult to fully prevent. "If you have a whack job… they can make trouble," he said, adding, "Some of these people are of genius level IQ and they're nuts."

He said security forces operate to the best of their ability: "You do absolutely the best… you get the best we have."

Trump said his initial confusion during the incident reflected how quickly such situations can unfold, but emphasised resilience in the aftermath. "It comes with the territory," he said.

He added that the events would not alter his approach to governing, stating, "It's not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran," and concluding, "We're going to continue to do a great job."