Former President Barack Obama was blasted by critics for suggesting the motive behind Saturday night’s assassination attempt for President Donald Trump was a mystery… despite the gunman’s own manifesto made his intentions crystal clear.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, charged past a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner and opened fire just outside the ballroom where President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and senior administration officials were seated for the annual dinner. A Secret Service agent was struck in the chest, but his bulletproof vest saved his life.
Allen was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives when he was arrested.
Just 10 minutes before the attack, Allen sent a manifesto to members of his family outlining his motives. His brother notified the New London Police Department in Connecticut. Federal law enforcement confirmed Allen told police after his arrest that he intended to kill Trump administration officials.
The manifesto was very clear: Allen was a far-left “woke” radical.
“I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,” Allen claimed.
“Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed. I’m not the person raped in a detention camp. I’m not the fisherman executed without trial. I’m not a schoolkid blown up, or a child starved, or a teenage girl abused by the many criminals in this administration. Turning the other cheek when someone else is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes.”
Trump addressed the the manifesto Sunday, calling Allen a radicalized anti-Christian.
“I read a manifesto. He says he’s radicalized,” Trump said. “He was a Christian, a believer, and then he became an anti-Christian. And he had a lot of change. He’s been going through a lot based on what he wrote. His brother complained about him, and I think we reported him to the police… his family was very concerned. He was, probably a pretty sick guy.”
Despite all of that, Obama ignored the shooter’s outlined motives in a social media post.
“Although we don’t yet have the details about the motives behind last night’s shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner, it’s incumbent upon all us to reject the idea that violence has any place in our democracy,” Obama wrote. “It’s also a sobering reminder of the courage and sacrifice that U.S. Secret Service Agents show every day. I’m grateful to them – and thankful that the agent who was shot is going to be okay.”
Conservative commentators were quick to blast Obama.
“This guy. We don’t have the motives? There’s a damn manifesto that details everything,” Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich posted on X.
“This is a lie—the gunman’s manifesto was published six hours ago. But it’s also a confession—an admission that the motive is damning to President Obama’s side, hence the need to lie,” another critic wrote.
Let’s not pretend to be this clueless about motive, @BarackObama
The attempted assassin put out an anti-Trump manifesto about wanting to kill Trump Admin officials, minutes before trying to storm a ballroom filled with the President, VP, Cabinet, and many others from his Admin. https://t.co/GvpJ6cJuUK
— Lee Zeldin (@LeeMZeldin) April 26, 2026
Allen is set to be arraigned Monday in federal court in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said she will be aggressive in her pursuit of justice.
“It is clear, based upon what we know so far, that this individual was intent on doing as much harm and as much damage as he could,” Pirro said.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed Sunday that Allen traveled from California to Washington by train through Chicago, and that investigators believe he acted alone. It was the third assassination attempt of Trump in less than two years.