US President Donald Trump during a press briefing shortly after a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. (April 25, 2026)
NewsGuard poll: 1 in 4 Americans think WHCA dinner shooting was staged
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A recent survey conducted by NewsGuard in partnership with YouGov has highlighted public skepticism regarding the incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) Dinner back in late April.
The poll, released on May 11, 2026, found that approximately one in four Americans, or 24 percent, believe the April 25 shooting at the event was staged.
The incident occurred on April 25, 2026, at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. A 31-year-old suspect, Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, rushed a security checkpoint armed with a shotgun, pistol, and knives.
He fired at a Secret Service officer, who was struck in a bullet-resistant vest but sustained no serious injuries.
President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other officials were evacuated safely from the ballroom. Allen was apprehended, and authorities described the event as an attempted assassination targeting the president and administration officials.
Allen has been charged with multiple federal counts, including attempted assassination of the president. He pleaded not guilty in court and is scheduled for a future appearance on June 29, 2026. Prosecutors have cited evidence including a manifesto sent by the suspect prior to the attack and video footage of the confrontation.
The NewsGuard/YouGov poll surveyed 1,000 American adults between April 28 and May 4, 2026. It revealed a clear partisan divide.
Roughly one-third of Democratic respondents indicated belief that the incident was staged, compared to about one in eight Republicans.
Younger adults aged 18 to 29 were also more likely to express skepticism than older respondents.
Overall, 45 percent viewed the attempt as legitimate, while 32 percent were unsure.
Broader findings from the survey indicate that 30 percent of Americans believe at least one of the three assassination attempts on President Trump in recent years was staged.
These include the July 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania rally shooting and a September 2024 incident at a Florida golf course.
NewsGuard, a firm that rates the reliability of online news sources, attributed the results in part to widespread online conspiracy theories and declining trust in institutions and media across the political spectrum.
