Ever the marketer, President Donald Trump quickly turned what appears to be an assassination attempt at the White House Correspondent's Association dinner into a pitch for his proposed White House ballroom. And that swift topic change had conspiracy theories running rampant.
After Cole Thomas Allen allegedly opened fire inside the hotel where the dinner was being held, sending the room of dignitaries into chaos, baseless speculation about the shooting gained traction on social media.
The term “staged” was featured in more than 300,000 posts on X by midday Sunday, according to TweetBinder.
The conspiracy theory was that the shooting was staged to gain approval for Trump's ballroom, a project he wants to complete, but that keeps hitting judicial snags.
And the conspiracy gained so much traction that Trump addressed it, saying on 60 Minutes about the people spreading it, "I think they’re more sick than they are con people. But there’s a lot of con in there too.”
TRUMP: WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER SHOOTING WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITH NEW BALLROOM
— The Dallas Express News (@DallasExpress) April 27, 2026
President says the $400M secure facility under construction would prevent such incidents and must proceed without delay.
Read More: https://t.co/qFT3BIeZlm@WhiteHouse @POTUS pic.twitter.com/vnJxm20h2v
Addressing the rampant talk, Trump added to Norah O'Donnell he was surprised the conspiracy theory started because "Usually, they wait about two or three months to start saying that." Although he added that suggestions Saturday’s shooting was staged were a “tough sell.”
O’Donnell also asked about conspiracy theories surrounding the attempt on Trump’s life during a rally in Pennsylvania in 2024 that left him a split second away from a bullet to the head.
The president added that some people believe “World War II didn’t happen and the Holocaust didn’t happen, and many things didn’t happen.”
What did happen here is that Immediately after the shooting Trump said it proved that his $400 million ballroom is necessary. It's been heavily criticized because of lack of government oversight on the construction and murky financing, not to mention the optics of building a lavish ballroom while many struggle to pay rent and buy medication.
Still, Trump used to shooting to push for it to be finished.
"What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE. This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president has said the ballroom would be bullet-proof, have a secure underground bunker and be impenetrable by drones.
"Nothing should be allowed to interfere with with its construction, which is on budget and substantially ahead of schedule!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP
ABC News reported that preservationists are continuing their lawsuit against construction of the White House ballroom, "declining a request by the Department of Justice to withdraw the complaint following the shooting."
"What Saturday's awful event does not change is that the Constitution and multiple federal statutes require Congress to authorize construction of a ballroom on White House grounds, and that Congress has not done so," Attorney Gregory Craig wrote in response.
