Donald Trump at the media conference on Saturday in the White House.Image: keystone
analysis
Donald Trump has survived a third assassination attempt. Afterwards he appeared to be forgiving for his circumstances. However, it is unlikely that this will be of any use to him.
April 27, 2026, 1:52 p.mApril 27, 2026, 1:52 p.m
Donald Trump is a person who defies classification. This was shown once again on Saturday at the correspondents’ dinner in Washington. For the third time in less than two years he was Target of an assassination attempt. Because everything points to the shooter being it targeted the president and members of his government.
For the first time since taking up residence in the White House, Trump attended the gala at the Hilton Hotel. Which was remarkable given his difficult relationship with the media. The abrupt end with the shooting outside the ballroom could have deepened tensions. But the president’s initial reaction was unusually conciliatory.
Video: watson/emanuella kälin
During an appearance in the White House media room wearing ball gear, he appealed to the public to “stand together and resolve our differences peacefully” after the incident. At the same time, Trump used the opportunity to advertise his own ballroom. With him, “this event would never have happened,” said Trump.
How well is Trump protected?
This could be debated, but at least the question arises once again: how well the president is protected. Even with the first attempted attacks during the election campaign two years ago, there were big question marks about this. For example, the July 2024 attacker in Butler (Pennsylvania) was able to go unnoticed firing at Trump from the roof of a house.
Two months later, the Secret Service only narrowly managed to to stop an assassin at the golf course at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. Things also went wrong in Saturday’s shooting. The perpetrator was able to check into the Hilton unmolested with a shotgun, and he only had to pass a metal detector outside the ballroom.
Low pity effect
The attempted attacks two years ago earned the then-candidate some sympathy points, not least because of the iconic shots after the shootings in Butler. However, there were other reasons for his election victory in November. Now Donald Trump is more unpopular than ever. Will Saturday’s shooting help him?
The iconic shots after the attack in Butler earned Trump sympathy.Image: keystone
This time, “the pity effect will probably be even smaller” than in the first two incidents, says USA correspondent and columnist Edward Luce in the Financial Times. He justifies this by saying that Donald Trump on Saturday was never seriously endangered. This is in contrast to the attack in Butler, which he only survived with luck.
Comparison with Reagan
Luce compares Saturday’s incident to the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, who was shot and critically injured in front of the same hotel in Washington in March 1981 after just a few weeks in office. His surge in popularity was nevertheless short-lived: “It would be a surprise if Trump received one at all.”
This assessment is understandable, as the US President’s popularity ratings have recently been in free fall. Less than 40 percent of Americans view his work positively. In an AP poll released last week this value fell to 33 percent. He receives poor marks primarily for his supposed strength, economic policy.
The war and the price of gasoline
In the survey in question, 73 percent said the US economy was doing badly. And in a survey by Trump’s “house channel” Fox News, the Democrats were given the first rating since 2010 more economic competence than the Republicans. The main reason for the bad mood is the Iran war and its consequences for the wallet.
The high gasoline prices are causing discontent in the USA.Image: keystone
What this means is that the next time Americans are confronted with high gas prices at the gas station, they won’t think about Saturday’s shooting. But a war that was unpopular from the start. And with no end in sight. Rather, both sides ultimately remained stagnant in a kind of limbo.
First the Strait of Hormuz?
There is at least some sign of movement on Monday night. Iran is said to have offered this as a first step to negotiate the opening of the Strait of Hormuzreported the well-informed news portal Axios. Only in a later phase will sensitive issues such as the nuclear program be tackled.
Trump himself was adamant on Fox News on Sunday. He wants to continue the naval blockade because it will “strangle” Iranian oil exports and force the Islamic Republic to give in. It remains to be seen whether the President will stick to the hard line or accept the offer given the anger among the US population.
Assassination attempts as a problem
Part of the problem, according to Axios, is the disunity within Iran’s leadership. It is ironically due to the fact that the USA and Israel killed several leading regime representatives in the first phase of the war, starting with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, writes Edward Luce in the Financial Times.
In view of Saturday’s attack, this is actually special. This is another reason why Donald Trump is unlikely to benefit from it. And the next day he fell into his usual routine when speaking to the media. When allegations from the attacker’s manifesto were read to him on the CBS show “60 Minutes,” he insulted the presenter massively.