Incident at White House Correspondents’ Dinner

On April 25, a 31-year-old resident of California, Cole Thomas Allen, reportedly entered a security checkpoint with a shotgun, a handgun, and a knife. He fired multiple shots at Trump administration officials during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton in D.C.

Fortunately, President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and others were safely evacuated, leading to no significant injuries among attendees. Allen was promptly arrested and charged with the attempted assassination of the president. Before this event, he had sent a manifesto to his family outlining his motives.

Blaze TV host Liz Wheeler expressed her shock over the incident but mentioned she wasn’t exactly surprised by yet another violent act tied to political motives from the left. She noted, “The left will continue to commit or attempt to commit horrific acts of violence against us until they can no longer do so… There is no rhetoric or argument that can be constructed that will convince them to stop.”

This isn’t merely speculation. In a recent episode of “The Liz Wheeler Show,” she referenced polling data showing that the left is increasingly willing to engage in violence to further their agenda.

A public opinion poll released in April 2025 by the Network Infection Research Institute, in collaboration with Rutgers University, found that 56% of center-left respondents believed that killing Trump could be at least “somewhat justified,” and about 14.1% considered it “fully justified.”

Wheeler found these statistics alarming. She elaborated, “Fifty-six percent are on the left. It’s not just the mainstream media or the loud voices on social media platforms. This is more than half of Democrats.” She pointed out that if you were to engage with someone who voted for Kamala Harris or leans left, there’s a higher chance they’d rationalize assassination as an appropriate response toward Trump.

However, despite her conservative stance, Wheeler doesn’t think that she or individuals like her would harbor the desire to kill their political adversaries. “There’s no possible scenario where I could envision justifying the assassination of even the most extreme Democratic figure I can imagine. That’s illegal and, without a doubt, immoral,” she asserted.

Yet, she maintains that Democratic voters, in general, seem to be more inclined to support such extreme measures. Referencing data from the Center for Skeptical Research in 2025, she indicated that educational attainments correlate with a higher acceptance of violence as a means of social change. The findings illustrate that among those with various educational backgrounds, an alarming number believe violence is necessary for social reforms.

Wheeler pointed to the trend where support for political violence increases with education level, particularly among those with graduate degrees, where acceptance rose to 40%.

This pattern was also reflected in attitudes toward property damage during protests. “This is not a coincidence: years spent in academia appear to correlate with an increased acceptance of political violence,” she stated, referencing the left’s strong hold within educational institutions.

Ultimately, Wheeler concluded that political violence has seeped from the fringes into mainstream acceptance, particularly among the left.

For more insights, she suggested watching the full episode linked above.