WASHINGTON — The Secret Service is reviewing security protocols after a shooting near the White House late Friday, an incident that Little Diaper Donnie immediately cited as proof that his long-stalled, billion-dollar golden ballroom is essential to the safety of the nation.
The gunman, a 27-year-old Indiana man whom the Secret Service had interviewed multiple times in recent months, approached the north fence line and fired approximately 30 rounds in the direction of the executive mansion before agents neutralized him. No White House personnel were harmed. The shooter had been known to the agency for erratic behavior, including a prior trespassing incident at the White House in April, according to a preliminary incident report.
Within hours, the former president issued a statement that did not mention the assailant’s known history with law enforcement but did link the shooting to his proposed “Golden Eagle Ballroom,” a gilded addition to the White House complex that the Senate refused to fund just last week.
“As I have been saying, the security of the White House depends on the completion of the Golden Eagle Ballroom,” the statement read. “While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., for his wedding, circumstances pertaining to government and my love for the United States do not allow me to leave Washington. The ballroom is not just a ballroom — it is a protective barrier for our great nation.”
The statement drew attention to the fact that the president had remained at the White House over the weekend — an unusual occurrence — and had canceled his attendance at his son’s wedding to Bettina Anderson, the daughter of a late Palm Beach banker who once wrote a letter calling Jeffrey Epstein a man of “highest integrity.”
The Senate last Thursday voted to strip $1 billion in funding for the ballroom from a spending bill, with Senator Bill Cassidy pointing out that no architectural plans, engineering studies, or environmental reviews exist for the project. “In my mind, it could cost a lot less, it could cost a lot more,” Cassidy said. “I just don’t get it.”
But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the linkage in a briefing Saturday, her voice level and matter-of-fact. “The president has long argued that the Golden Eagle Ballroom will serve as a hardened security perimeter with state-of-the-art protective features,” Leavitt said. “The events of Friday night demonstrate precisely why we must accelerate construction. When a shooter approaches, the ballroom’s gold-plated exterior and ballistic-grade chandeliers act as a first line of defense.”
Leavitt added that the ballroom’s design would extend a reinforced roofline beyond the existing building envelope, a measure that “stops rounds in their tracks.” She declined to specify how a ballroom located on the South Lawn would have stopped a shooter at the north fence.
The shooter’s history with the Secret Service has raised questions. Agents had interacted with him at least twice this spring, once when he was found climbing a temporary barricade and again when he mailed a manifesto to the White House security office. The agency said the incidents did not meet the threshold for a full threat assessment.
A Secret Service spokesperson, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained the approach: “Our protocols involve continuous evaluation. This individual was known, but we assess risk based on immediacy. At the time of prior contacts, there was no indication of an imminent attack.” The spokesperson then noted that the agency fully supports the ballroom initiative as a “passive defense measure.”
The former president, meanwhile, posted a follow-up message on social media: “They mocked my ballroom. Now look what happened. We break ground soon!” The post was accompanied by a computer rendering of a domed structure labeled “the former president’S HOUSE OF GOLD” with a small note: “Resistant to small arms fire.”
The architectural firm hired to conceptualize the ballroom said it has not yet completed a site survey. A spokesperson confirmed the firm received a change order early Saturday to incorporate “ballistic resilience” into the gold leaf façade.
The East Wing did not respond to a request for comment on how a ballroom would have prevented a shooting that occurred on the opposite side of the complex. A follow-up inquiry was placed on the docket for the next meeting of the National Security Council’s newly formed Working Group on Ornamental Fortification.
