The White House power play post-dinner shooting: do what we say or else
The Trump administration has moved swiftly to advance political objectives following a failed assassination attempt at the White House, using the incident to justify security-related projects and target perceived opponents. The Justice Department filed an emergency motion to resume construction of a new White House ballroom, citing presidential safety. Officials also pursued charges against former FBI director James Comey and accelerated FCC reviews of ABC broadcast licenses after criticism of the Trump family.
- ▪The Justice Department filed an emergency motion to resume construction of a White House ballroom, citing the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump as justification.
- ▪A grand jury in North Carolina indicted former FBI director James Comey over an Instagram post interpreted as a threat, which he claimed was unintentional.
- ▪The FCC, led by Brendan Carr, accelerated reviews of ABC's broadcasting licenses after Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about Melania Trump.
- ▪The ACLU and press freedom advocates criticized the administration for weaponizing federal agencies against political critics.
- ▪This follows a pattern of the Trump administration leveraging violent incidents to push political agendas, as seen after the killing of Charlie Kirk in 2025.
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Trump at an event in Florida on Friday. Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenTrump at an event in Florida on Friday. Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/Getty ImagesDonald TrumpAnalysisThe White House power play post-dinner shooting: do what we say or elseSam Levine in New YorkAfter correspondents’ dinner shooting, administration has rushed to capitalize in pursuit of its political goalsSat 2 May 2026 06.00 EDTLast modified on Sat 2 May 2026 06.02 EDTShareLess than 72 hours after a man was arrested for trying to assassinate Donald Trump at the White House, the justice department rushed to court to make an extraordinary filing.The subject of the emergency was a lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation seeking to halt the construction of a new White House…
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