President Trump’s Grace Under Fire

What appears to be the third assassination attempt against President Trump in two years is a moment to mark not only the growing danger of political violence but also the 47th president’s — dare we say it? — grace under fire. What gripped us the most at the event was not the chaos at the Washington Hilton but the press conference at the White House afterwards. There was Mr. Trump, in a tuxedo, narrating his impressions of the crime.The sight of Mr. Trump calmly taking questions from reporters still dressed in their evening wear — including women with bare shoulders and flowing dresses — could come to be seen as a defining image of his time in American politics. If not the equal of the photograph of a bleeding Mr. Trump with a raised fist after the bullets flew at Butler, the press conference nevertheless captured the presence of the president but also the press. Mr. Trump began the press conference by telling the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, CBS News’s Weijia Jiang, “Madam chairman, I just want to say you did a fantastic job. What a beautiful evening.” This after a significant swath of the presidential line of succession — in addition to the first lady, the acting attorney general, and the director of the CIA, among others — was hustled to safety after the shots rang out.Our Matthew Rice, who was in the room, reports that he heard “four or five distinct shots.” Mr. Trump likened the sounds to the tumbling of trays. Mr. Rice relates that “the alarm in the room moved like a wave through the crowd, with those of us at the back who were nearest to the shooter diving down first, only for sounds of falling glasses, plates, and silverware to alert a succession of tables closer to the president to take cover as well.” The evening’s entertainment, the mentalist Oz Pearlman, called the scene “incredibly surreal.” He relates that both he and the president were tackled by secret service agents, and that he and Mr. Trump “laid on the ground, I was a couple feet away from President Trump, eyes locked with one another. It was likely the scariest moment of my life and I will never forget it.” He and the president were forced to “crawl on all fours” to safety.The acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, said on Sunday that the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, was “likely” motivated by a desire to harm the president and the leadership. Mr. Trump tells Fox News that Mr. Allen, whom he called a “lone wolf,” had compiled a “manifesto” outlining his hostility. The United States attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, announced that Mr. Allen will be charged with firearm and assault crimes.“It’s always shocking,” Mr. Trump reflected, “when something like this happens. Happened to me, a little bit. And that never changes.” He cited the slaying of President Lincoln for the idea that the presidency is “a dangerous profession.” He added that the “people that make the biggest impact, they’re the ones that they go after.” The president, his bowtie slightly askew, found it a moment to insist that “we have to resolve our differences.”

President Trump’s Grace Under Fire

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