Stephen A. Smith has backed Donald Trump‘s ballroom project following the recent WHCD shooting scare. The ESPN host supported the argument that hosting the event in White House would have ensured tighter security.
Stephen A. Smith comments on WHCD shooting incident
Stephen A. Smith was among the numerous guests in attendance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night when an anti-Trump gunman fired gunshots at the premises. He recalled the chaotic moments in his YouTube show. Smith also gave his thoughts on Donald Trump’s ballroom project.
The incident has also triggered debate over whether the Correspondence Dinner should have been hosted at the Washington Hilton. Smith supported relocating such an important event to the White House instead. The television host seemingly supported Trump’s ballroom plans, arguing that the premise would provide much better security.
“A dead clock is right twice a day. The president has a point,” Smith stated. He added, “Stuff like this should be on the grounds of the White House. It shouldn’t be at some damn hotel in D.C. that just anybody could get into. It just shouldn’t.”
Following the shooting scare, Donald Trump has called for the rapid completion of the White House ballroom plan. “What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Trump argued that the incident “would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House.” He added, “It cannot be built fast enough! While beautiful, it has every highest level security feature there is plus, there are no rooms sitting on top for unsecured people to pour in, and is inside the gates of the most secure building in the World, The White House.”
Most recently, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has allowed construction to resume temporarily until the next hearing on June 5, 2026.
Originally reported by Namrata Ghosh for Mandatory.
