The attempted attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner Saturday by a “lone man” will “not stop” President Trump from doing his job and appearing in public before the American people, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday.
In an interview with “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” the morning after shots were fired at the event at the Washington Hilton, Brennan asked if there was a heightened concern about the presence of so many of the nation’s leaders — including the president, Vice President JD Vance and other Cabinet members — in one room. The vice president and president were whisked off stage and out of the room by law enforcement, while other Cabinet officials and members of Congress huddled on the floor and under tables.
Blanche said the president and his top officials “will not stop” making public appearances.
“We will not stop doing things like we did last night in this administration,” Blanche said. “And this man, if one of his goals was to get us to be scared, he failed.”
“President Trump said last night, and he means it — and I very much agree with him — that this type of conduct will not deter him, it will not stop him from living,” Blanche continued. “It will not stop him from doing his job. And not only him, but the vice president, the Cabinet, the law enforcement, you all journalists, you’re not going to stop doing your jobs either because of this — this lone man that did what he did.”
“And so, this is something that we all are still reacting to because it’s fresh, but I assure you that the type of things you saw the president last night and the president being out there and available to the American public, that will not change because of what this guy tried to do last night,” Blanche added.
Blanche said authorities believe the suspect in the attack, 31-year-old Cole Allen — was targeting Trump administration officials. He is expected to face two charges, using a firearm during a violent crime and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said Saturday night. Blanche said Sunday that there may be additional charges, too.
“There’s a lot of federal charges that could be in play beyond those two charges, but it depends on us understanding his motive, his intent, his premeditation of what led into him deciding he was going to do what he did last night,” Blanche told Brennan.
Allen is expected to appear in court on Monday.
