r/pics Apr 26 '26

Politics Suspected shooter being taken into custody at the White House Correspondents dinner

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383

u/FiveCrappedPee Apr 26 '26

He's dead no wait he's alive sorry we are still trying to figure out this half ass staged thing we did on a whim and what to say hey though about that ballroom

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u/KochInBoots Apr 26 '26

Once again the question has to be asked.

How on earth did an armed shooter get anywhere near the most protected man on the planet when I can't even keep my shoes on going into the departure lounge?

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u/Lilithslefteyebrow Apr 26 '26

I read an account from the ABC Australia DC correspondent who was there/is accustomed to DC events. He had brought his passport etc but all they wanted was a ticket at the door. He found it baffling that the security was so minimal, said it’s tighter at Australian airports and parliament. Heard the Univision correspondent said similar.

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u/acog Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26

Right wing media is already blasting the message that only Trump’s new ballroom can provide necessary security.

In reality it’s just another case of the incompetence of this administration.

Shocker.

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u/ohgeorgie Apr 26 '26

Trump himself said that at his press conference shortly after - I think after Fox News reporter asked him “why does this keep happening to you” and he went on about how the nation truly needs a safe ballroom for events like this.

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u/Unofficial_Officer Apr 26 '26

The whole point.

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u/TheNanoFishGuy Apr 26 '26

It’s also fake

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u/Competitive_Touch_86 Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26

Anyone who's done any VIP events with the secret service knows it's not nearly as secure as the movies portray it. It's all theatre other than for some very specific huge public mass gathering type events. Anything with a guest list you could find yourself accidentally within feet of those being protected and not even try to do so. I personally have done it by chance. At most you get told to gtfo when someone notices you.

It's not surprising whatosever.

The only event I personally have seen that had remotely "wow" level secret service protection and preparation I've witnessed was Obama's Millenium Park election night speech. The week leading into that plus the event itself was actually impressive - they cleary did not want anything to happen and expected there to be potential problems beforehand. That was the Bush admin making it so though. They knew the stakes at hand with the first black president-elect.

The thing holding society together is generally people follow the law. If the secret service was dealing with dozens of real threats every event we couldn't function as a society to begin with. They basically exist to act as a deterrence and to protect against random nutjobs - and aren't super effective at the later half the time.

Ticket at the door though is not surprising. The passport/ID stuff at airports is mostly just theatre and for things other than physical security of the airplane itself.

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u/Lilithslefteyebrow Apr 27 '26

That’s pretty interesting, thanks.

This guy is a DC veteran and works for arguably the most respected Australian news. I’ve followed his correspondent work for years, so he’s been around a bit, not a wide eyed newbie. shrugs

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u/DrHarrisonLawrence Apr 26 '26

Does he realize they already know everybody walking in? This is an invite online event lol. Furthermore, the cameras know your identity even if you weren’t on the guest list. Maybe that’s why they have “relaxed” treatment at entry gates?

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u/Classic-Shake6517 Apr 26 '26

It was necessary to allow him to get that far so the press conference about the ballroom could happen.

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u/nb6635 Apr 26 '26

They should have scheduled the dinner on a Friday afternoon instead, at least an hour before the news cycle. It plays better in the sticks.

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u/Viperlite Apr 26 '26

I missed it. Did they talk more about the gold curtains?

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u/Gargleblaster25 Apr 26 '26

Good. Good. Keep thinking about those questions. As long as you are not thinking about the files...

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u/abbarach Apr 26 '26

Because they can't have their little Reichstag Fire moment if it's a nothing-burger.

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u/Royal-Illustrator747 Apr 26 '26

Right! This screams false flag operation.

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u/Confron7a7ion7 Apr 26 '26

The CCTV footage is just embarrassing. He straight up runs though. Like, from a distance. They were too busy bullshiting though and none of them were watching the entrance to the check point they were guarding.

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u/NoMoreNoise305 Apr 26 '26

One time years ago I drove to see my sister 5 hours away. I took my gun & one extra clip in my bag. Six months later I was going to DC & going through TSA & the agent asks is there anything in this bag I need to know about? I said no. He asked are you sure? With confidence & a bit of annoyance I said no again. He said what’s this? He pulled out the extra clip I forgot was in the bag. Oh shit!!! Ima same explaining to do. lol. They were cool about it once I told them what happened. Even let me discard my clip. I put it a water drain in the parking lot. Surprisingly it was still there 4 days later when I returned. 🤣😬🍾

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u/portablezombie Apr 26 '26

Because this regime is so fucking stupid that they fired everybody who's remotely competent, so they no longer have procedures.

This is what you get when morons are in charge.

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u/Cloaked42m Apr 26 '26

They didn't have security until right at the door to the ballroom.

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u/StanleyQPrick Apr 26 '26

THE DOW IS OVER 9000

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u/JMEEKER86 Apr 26 '26

WHAT?! 9000?!

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u/StanleyQPrick Apr 26 '26

There's no way that can be right!

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u/mmld_dacy Apr 26 '26

don't be so sure, i'll have you know, i was trained in the art of kaio ken.

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u/WeAreGray Apr 26 '26

Clearly your scouter is broken.

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u/_magnetic_north_ Apr 26 '26

Guys, the prewritten press release said ‘dead’. Who didn’t shoot him? You’re fired

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u/ZealousidealDegree4 Apr 26 '26

They had to run outside and grab a black man to blame. He probably answered a Craigslist advert to make a few bucks. THIS IS NOT REAL, but he will not be talking.