The dramatic events at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last night will inevitably raise worrying questions about the security surrounding King Charles and Queen Camilla’s state visit to the US this week.
The fact that an armed man got so close to assassinating the President of the United States is extraordinary given that Donald Trump is reputed to be the best protected individual on earth.
As a former head of royal protection, I would expect all venues hosting the President to be surrounded by what I call an ‘onion’ system of security, with at least three different layers.
And yet, the shooter, who was apparently armed with a shotgun and ‘multiple’ knives managed to storm through the final layer – which did not consist of a physical barrier – and was heading for the entrance to the ballroom where 2,300 members of the political and media elite were gathered.
It would appear that he would have had no problem breaching the outer perimeter as he was actually staying at the Washington Hilton Hotel, the venue hosting the event, and so presumably made his way into the lobby before heading for the banqueting suite.
Security there was said to be disturbingly lax, with a number of accounts testifying to guests being allowed in without proper bag checks and beeps from security wands often ignored.
The assassination attempt on Trump raises questions about the King's visit
The fact that the would-be shooter, a 31-year-old teacher from California, appears to be a ‘clean skin’ – that is someone with no track record of criminality, of campaigning against Trump or plotting his downfall – would also have made his actions that much more difficult to predict.
We are very unlikely to see a repeat of such a security lapse at the state dinner for the King and Queen on Tuesday night.
For a start, there will be many fewer guests. It is being held in the White House’s East Room because Trump’s much-vaunted new ballroom is still under construction, so there will be capacity for just 120 people.
That event will also benefit from the protection offered by the well-established ‘ring of steel’ that surrounds the building which acts as both the President’s office and residence.
But there is likely to be an urgent review of the security surrounding the King and Queen’s external engagements, particularly those that involve them mixing with members of the public.
Before the state dinner they will attend a wreath-laying ceremony at a military site and on Wednesday they will visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York to meet with first responders and victims’ families.
There will also be visit to a sustainable urban farming event and a trip to a national park to meet indigenous community leaders and conservationists, as well as a ‘block party’ on Thursday to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s independence, which is the main purpose of the visit.
Questions are being asked about how the shooter was able to breach the security rings
The fact that someone got so close to assassinating Donald Trump, despite the fact he is protected 24/7 by a rotating team of 300 Secret Service agents supported by other law-enforcement agencies when circumstance demand it, has inevitably prompted speculation that the whole thing was a set-up to boost his popularity ahead of the mid-term Congressional elections in November.
I personally doubt that the administration would get involved in anything so fraught with risk of exposure but there’s no doubt the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and setbacks in its war in Iran have thrown the Trump White House into crisis.