Associate editor at The Hill, Niall Stanage joins Pat to discuss an overnight shooting at the White House Correspondents' dinner.
A White House columnist has said that it remains unclear whether the attack during White House Correspondents’ Dinner would boost Trump poll numbers.
Shots were heard outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, prompting a rapid Secret Service response.
A man - named as 31-year-old Thomas Allen from California - was detained at the scene, with police saying he was carrying multiple weapons.
The US president was urged to duck down before being taken to safety by security.
Donald Trump attended for the first time as president, but didn't get to deliver his remarks.
Niall Stanage, Associate Editor at The Hill, said that it was unclear whether shots fired during the White House Correspondent’s dinner would offer any appreciable boost to the President’s poll numbers.
“I think we're in a much different situation now that Trump is president and some of his actual decisions have proven unpopular”, he told The Pat Kenny Show on Sunday.
“That seems to me much different from the Butler shooting when he was a candidate.
“One of the reasons his numbers are flagging to the degree that you rightly note is the war in Iran generally.
“Specifically the effect of the war in Iran on fuel prices in the United States. That appears to be reaching, I would say, voters who are not particularly ideological of one ilk or another, but who are unhappy to see those prices going up.”
Asked whether the incident would lead to a change in Donald Trump’s security, Mr Stanage said if anything, security might increase for this annual dinner.
Will the attack help Trump poll numbers?
Mr Stanage, who had attended previous editions said the venue was a “massive hotel” that did not close down for the event creating an “inherent security vulnerability".
“Accessibility is vulnerability in a sense when people have nefarious intent.
“The more security you have, the less freedom you have. The more freedom you have, the less security you have.”
Donald Trump says he is safe after being rushed from an event in Washington, describing the suspect as “a dangerous individual” following reports of gunfire nearby.
At a news conference afterwards, President Trump described the suspect as a "whack job".
He paid tribute to a secret service agent who was injured during the shooting saying the officer was in great shape and in high spirits.
“We told him we love him and respect him”, the President said.
Thousands of journalists were at the White House Correspondents' Dinners, held at a hotel in the US capital - including Misha Komadovsky from German outlet DW.
He says security was "typical" of previous years - with tickets not personalised and no ID checks.
Main Image: President Donald Trump.
