WASHINGTON — President Trump is returning Friday to the site of his most recent assassination attempt — but the Washington Hilton’s security looks remarkably similar to what it did ahead of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
The core issues that allowed alleged gunman Cole Allen to sneak guns into the Hilton ahead of the April 25 dinner remained — including the rental of rooms to guests not associated with the president’s visit and the equally significant lack of external security screening.
“Surprised? No. Shocked,” attendee Vincent Fusca said of the security situation — as he disbelievingly looked onto the hotel’s front driveway, where people with luggage and computer bags entered without inspection.
(From left) White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Melania Trump, President Trump, and Weijia Jiang attend as mentalist Oz Pearlman hosts the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton on April 25, 2026. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for OPFusca survived the July 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pa. — pumping his fist alongside a wounded Trump as he stood feet away — and told The Post more should have been done to protect the hotel, considering the Correspondents’ Dinner failures.
He said he was “totally, totally shocked — after Butler, and then Charlie Kirk.”
At the Correspondents’ Dinner, people had to show a dinner ticket, pre-party invite or proof they were staying at the hotel in the hours closest to the dinner — a screening measure not in effect on Friday for Trump’s remarks to the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual “Road to Majority” conference.
Vincent Fusca said security was insufficient as Trump prepared to return to the Washington Hilton. Steven Nelson/NY Post
The most obvious security upgrade since the Correspondents’ Dinner shooting was the placement of a gate at the top of a stairwell, requiring guests to walk an additional 30 feet.
White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting suspect Cole Allen was tackled after running through the event’s magnetometers. via REUTERSThe magnetometers outside the hotel’s ballroom for Trump’s remarks are in almost exactly the same place, though the nearest stairwell down to the speech venue is closed off by waist-high fencing, requiring attendees to walk about 30 more feet to descend a different set of stairs.
Fusca said he would have felt more comfortable with a turnstile checkpoint outside the building, arguing that authorities should have caught Allen in April before he even entered the doors.
A Secret Service official told The Post that its measures were “effective” at the dinner — as Allen was taken down before entering the ballroom where Trump and more than 2,000 officials, journalists and business leaders had gathered.
Fusca (upper left) was standing behind Trump during the July 2024 Butler, Pa., assassination attempt and said more should be done to ensure Trump is safe. Anadolu via Getty Images
Trump and much of his cabinet attended the Correspondents’ Dinner and were rushed out of the Hilton’s ballroom. Getty Images“At every protective site, the U.S. Secret Service deploys a sophisticated, layered security framework that is custom-designed and continuously evolves to meet today’s heightened security environment,” the official said.
“While the existing security plan at the April 2026 White House Correspondents Dinner was effective in interdicting an identified threat, the agency continually reviews our security posture and will make adjustments, as necessary.”
