US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner reinforced the need for a fully secured reception space within the White House complex.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said “what happened last night is exactly why” presidents and security agencies have long called for “a large, secure, and fully protected reception space” to be built on site.

He said the ballroom currently under construction would include “every possible feature of the highest level of security” and, being within the White House perimeter, would prevent access by “unscreened persons”.

“This particular incident would never have happened” in such a facility, he added, calling for any legal challenges to the project to be withdrawn and stating that construction remains “on budget and significantly ahead of schedule”.

The comments followed a shooting at the Washington Hilton, where a suspect armed with firearms and knives opened fire at a security checkpoint, wounding a Secret Service agent before being subdued.

Authorities said the suspect’s weapons had been legally purchased in 2023 and 2025 and had not previously raised concern. Standard checks of hotel guests against government databases had not identified any risk.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the suspect “managed to fire a few shots” but was “immediately subdued” and had “barely made it past the outer security perimeter”.

He said the injured agent, who was struck in the chest, was protected by a bulletproof vest and later spoke with Trump.

Blanche rejected suggestions of a security failure, saying “the goal is not to prevent every possible incident, but to ensure a very safe and secure environment”, adding that “the Secret Service did their job last night”.