Ballistic glass. A bulletproof vest. Reimagined indoor events.
In the week since a gunman attempted to breach the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, President Donald Trump’s administration has been quietly rethinking how to protect a president who refuses to slow down.
On Monday, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles convened a meeting with the Secret Service leadership, Department of Homeland Security officials and the White House operations team, according to a White House official granted anonymity to speak about private conversations. The agenda focused chiefly on hardening security for Trump’s attendance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, America 250 celebrations — including a UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House — and midterm campaign rallies, according to an administration official familiar with the meeting.
The tension was visible immediately after the shooting: Trump wanted to return to the stage and address the crowd, but the Secret Service strongly recommended against that. Secret Service Director Sean Curran and the leader of the event’s security detail convinced him it was neither safe nor practical, according to four people familiar with the conversations who were granted anonymity to speak candidly.
Trump and his top aides have arrived at one firm conclusion: No future events will be canceled over security concerns — but they are being reimagined, according to the White House official.
Changes that are made — even those more obvious — will not receive much public explanation from the administration, said a former Trump White House official familiar with internal conversations about security.
“I know the sentiment on any vulnerabilities or changes to the security procedures won’t be publicized, and there is a desire not to publicly shame or reprimand the Secret Service,” the former official said.
Trump is personally fond of Curran, and does not want to damage the reputation of the organization, the former official said.
After the July 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, Secret Service officials recommended that Trump’s then-presidential re-election campaign halt outdoor rallies and events. The campaign briefly followed that guidance before resuming outdoor events a month later, adding bulletproof glass in front of the president’s podium.
White House officials are now considering whether to use bulletproof glass in front of the president’s podium indoors as well.
At a news conference Saturday evening, hours after the shooting, Trump was asked whether his security detail should rethink how it secures indoor events.
“Well then you just don’t do events,” Trump said. “No, I can’t do that. It is what it is, we have to do it.”
He also praised the Secret Service’s response. “I thought [Secret Service agents] were very impressive and if I didn’t, I’d let you know,” Trump said.
Despite Trump’s initial description of the Washington Hilton as “not a particularly secure building,” the White House’s messaging has been relatively buttoned up and affirmative of the security posture at the dinner. While taking questions on Thursday from reporters in the Oval Office, Trump, while commending the Secret Service’s efforts, acknowledged, “I think there’s always room for improvement, right?”
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Another potentially visible change under consideration: Having Trump wear a bulletproof vest.
After reports emerged that the White House was weighing the measure, Trump did not rule it out Thursday but sounded a hesitant note.
“I don’t know if I can handle looking 20 pounds heavier,” Trump joked. “I’ve been asked about that, and I guess it’s something you consider. In one way, you don’t like to do it, because you’re, you’re giving into a bad element, and so I don’t know, but I have been asked about it.”
The Secret Service also began its own investigation on Monday, a sweeping internal review to determine if there were security lapses or a need to crack down on security protocols as a result of the breach. The evaluation, known as a Mission Assurance Review, is considered a way to learn lessons and improve future security.
“If adjustments need to be made to protect the president, they will be made,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a Monday briefing.
Trump, for his part, struck a somber, resigned tone in the immediate aftermath. When asked Saturday whether political violence had become an unavoidable feature of American public life, he replied, “Yeah, I think so.”
His top staff and security officials hope he is wrong.
Trump’s first trip away from the White House since the shooting will come Friday, when he travels to central Florida to speak at a charter school. The event will be a closely watched test of any adjustments to presidential security protocols, the former White House official said.
In response to a request for comment, White House spokesman Davis Ingle said Trump “ has full confidence in the brave men and women of the Secret Service and all law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day — just as they did heroically on the night of the White House Correspondents Dinner.”
Jake Traylor is a White House correspondent for MS NOW.
Carol Leonnig is a senior investigative reporter with MS NOW.