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Published on: 04/27/2026 - 11:27 p.m. Modified on: 04/27/2026 - 11:27 p.m.

On Saturday, a man tried to break into the hall of the annual press gala in Washington. According to the White House, his intention was to target Donald Trump and several officials in his administration. As with previous assassination attempts against the American president, the attack generated a wave of conspiracy on the web. Some claim that Karoline Leavitt knew that shootings would take place, others that JD Vance was voluntarily evacuated before Donald Trump.

“Staged”, or in French “mis en scene”. According to TweetBinder, this is the term used more than 300,000 times in 24 hours after the attack which took place at the Hilton hotel where the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) dinner was held. For many Internet users, the incident would be a set-up as it came at just the right time for Donald Trump. According to them, an assassination attempt would distract attention from the poor polls of the American president in the midst of war with Iran, or even promote his new hyper-secure ballroom at the White House.

The number of rumors surrounding this fifth attack in ten years against the American president surprised even the main person concerned, although he himself was accustomed to conspiracy theories. In an interview on CBS, he was surprised at how quickly they spread, while calling their perpetrators "sick people" rather than crooks.

Also read “Framework”: conspiracy theories explode after the shootings at the press gala in Washington

Did Karoline Leavitt announce the shooting?

This is one of the “clues” most shared by Internet users: a video of the White House spokesperson asserting on the red carpet that “shots will be fired tonight”. Words which would attest that Karoline Leavitt would have been aware of the attack and would have made a slip of the tongue shortly before the gala.

In reality, it is a confusion around an idiomatic expression. The spokesperson was well interviewed on Fox News, where she promised an incisive speech. The “shots” would then be “spikes” launched by Donald Trump. The rest of his response confirms this: "Tonight's speech will be pure Donald Trump. It will be funny, entertaining. There will be barbs thrown around the room tonight. Everyone should watch."

In his press conference after the attack, Donald Trump himself returned to what was to be his first speech as American president in this gala where the head of state traditionally makes fun of journalists. “It would have been the most inappropriate speech ever given,” he allegedly promised his team.

All the presidents have gone to this gala – created in 1921 – except Ronald Reagan, who is convalescing, and Donald Trump, who has complicated relations with the press. In the history of this dinner traditionally hosted by a comedian, certain presidents like Barack Obama have seemed to take a certain pleasure in throwing jokes at journalists but also at guests, like a certain Donald Trump in 2015.

Why was JD Vance evacuated before Donald Trump?

Another footage of the attempted attack by Cole Allen, 31, sparked outrage online. In a post viewed more than six million times on

But if the images are authentic, we should not see favoritism towards the president's running mate. According to close protection experts interviewed by Newsweek, this protocol responds to a precise logic: the separation of targets, as soon as possible. The objective is to separate the protected personalities to prevent a single threat from being able to reach them simultaneously.

Each agent therefore follows a specific protocol for a specific personality. In addition, the images show that a man from the security service immediately positioned himself in front of Donald Trump. Elements which made Attorney General Todd Blanche say that the system worked perfectly. Indeed, of the 18 people in the presidential line of succession, 12 were present in the room. Toutes sont sorties indemnes.

Read alsoShooting at the press gala: the suspect indicted for attempted assassination of Trump

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