They only go after those who make the biggest impact, like Lincoln: Trump on White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Apr. 25 is an indication of the impact he has made.

Just less than an hour before making the comments, he had been evacuated out of the Hilton Hotel's ballroom in Washington DC after gunshots were heard while salad was being served during the annual event, reported AP News.

An alleged gunman has been arrested and identified as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old teacher from California, according to law enforcement.

Only happens to most impactful people

At a press conference following the attack, Trump was asked by a reporter why "this keeps happening to [him]", alluding to a previous assassination attempt made at a rally on Jul, 13, 2024.

In response, he said, "The people that do the most, the people that make the biggest impact, they're the ones that they go after."

He referenced the 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated during his second term, to allude to the fact that "very impactful people" are often the targets of successful or unsuccessful assassination attempts.

"They don't go after the ones that don't do much, because they like it that way," Trump said, adding, "And I hate to say I'm honoured by that, but I've done a lot. We've done a lot."

"We've taken this country and we were a laughing stock for years, and now we're the hottest country anywhere in the world...and there are a lot of people that are not happy about that."

Asked by another reporter if the shooting could be linked to the war in Iran, Trump said: "I don't think so, but you never know."

He referred to Allen as "a sick person, a very sick person", while praising the fast response time of the secret service officers who took him down.

Among them, an officer was shot but saved by a bulletproof vest he was wearing.

Event postponed to within next 30 days

Reflecting on the events of the night, Trump added, "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", referring to a ballroom project he had been spearheading.

Trump has demolished the East Wing of the White House, planning to build a new ballroom there while citing security reasons, but has been stymied by a judge's order.

He said that he had originally wanted to keep the dinner running and "fought like hell to stay", but was persuaded by investigation officers to postpone the event.

Another dinner will be held within the next 30 days, according him.

"I was all set to really rip it," he quipped.

"I'll have to save it. I don't know if I can ever be as rough as I was going to be tonight – I think I'm gonna be probably very nice. I'll be very boring for the next time."

Top images via The White House/YouTube