Former President Barack Obama came under fire on Sunday for claiming the motive behind the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was still unclear despite an alleged manifesto.
The missive, originally obtained by the New York Post, details how suspected gunman Cole Tomas Allen, 31, was targeting members of the Trump administration at the ritzy gala.
‘Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed. I’m not the person raped in a detention camp. I’m not the fisherman executed without trial,’ the manifesto reportedly read.
‘I’m not a schoolkid blown up or a child starved or a teenage girl abused by the many criminals in this administration. Turning the other cheek when *someone else* is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes,’ it continued.
In one passage apparently referencing President Trump directly, Allen allegedly wrote: ‘I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.’
But several hours after the missive, Obama claimed ‘details about the motives’ were still unclear.
‘Although we don’t yet have the details about the motives behind last night’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, it’s incumbent upon us all to reject the idea that violence has any place in our democracy,’ he posted on X Sunday evening.
‘It’s also a sobering reminder of the courage and the sacrifice that US Secret Service Agents show every day. I’m grateful to them – and thankful that the agent who was shot is going to be OK.’
The former commander-in-chief quickly received some backlash for the post.
President Barack Obama (pictured in 2024) has come under fire for suggesting a motive for the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner remains unclear
A missive written by the alleged gunman details his plan to target members of the Trump administration
Obama posted to X on Sunday that ‘we don’t yet have the details about the motives behind last night’s shooting’
‘There is no ambiguity. It was a politically-motivated attack driven by anti-Trump and anti-Christian bile. It’s wrong to downplay or obscure the obvious motive,’ former Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin posted.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin also hit out at the former president.
‘Let’s not pretend to be this clueless about motive,’ he wrote.
‘The attempted assassin put out an anti-Trump manifesto about wanting to kill Trump Admin officials, minutes before trying to storm a ballroom filled with the President, VP, Cabinet and many others from his Admin.’
Utah Senator Mike Lee added: ‘It was politically motivated. He made that pretty clear.’
Even an account belonging to the Republican National Committee blasted Obama for his remark.
‘Law enforcement officers confirmed this radicalized Leftist was targeting President Trump and his administration last night,’ RNC Research wrote. ‘Why are you lying?’
After reading the missive, President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday that Democrats helped radicalize far-left agitators like Allen.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, sent the eerie anti-Trump writing to his family members just 10 minutes before he allegedly opened fire at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night
Obama quickly received some backlash for his post
He also cited the Internet as having ‘radicalized some people’ and ‘made some people mentally sick,’ and argued that the far-left is spreading violent rhetoric.
‘I do think that the hate speech of the Democrats much more so is very dangerous,’ Trump told CBS’ Norah O’Donnell in an interview for ’60 Minutes.’
‘I really think it’s very dangerous for the country.’
President Donald Trump and Melania took to the stage with other members of his cabinet just moments before shots rang out and chaos unfolded.
One Secret Service agent was harmed when he was struck in his bulletproof vest, and was expected to recover.
An ensuing investigation revealed Allen had been staying at the Hilton hotel where the event was taking place in the lead up to the gala, and his family has said he would regularly visit a shooting range to train with his guns.
He was also said to be armed with two guns and knives when he allegedly sprinted past a security checkpoint and attempted to reach the doors to the ballroom where the president was gathered along with his most senior cabinet members and thousands of journalists.
Trump said the shooter appeared to be like a ‘blur’ in surveillance footage showing him racing through the hotel hallway on Saturday night, joking that the ‘NFL should sign him up.’
‘But it was amazing because as soon as they [law enforcement] saw that, you could see them draw their guns. They were so professional, aimed their guns, and then they took him down immediately,’ Trump told O’Donnell.
The suspect is now expected to be arraigned Monday on two counts of wielding a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
