Trump has become America's most targeted leader, facing threats every few months
President Donald Trump has become the most targeted U.S. leader on record among both sitting and former presidents, facing threat-related incidents roughly every two to three months in recent years.
Trump has survived three major assassination attempts and nearly a dozen other threat-related incidents over the past two years alone. Overall, he has faced nearly 20 known threats since first taking office in 2017.
By comparison, every other U.S. president targeted in an assassination attempt faced just one, except President Gerald R. Ford, who survived two. Those presidents include Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Gerald R. Ford, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Four of those presidents — Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy — were killed.
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Seven known threat-related incidents occurred during Trump's first presidency, while four occurred during his 2024 campaign, including two assassination attempts. His second presidency has already seen eight additional incidents, including a third assassination attempt.
July 2024: The first assassination attempt on Trump came during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop, killing one spectator and critically wounding two others. The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, struck Trump in the upper right ear before being killed by a Secret Service sniper.
September 2024: Two months later, Secret Service agents spotted a gunman hiding in bushes with a rifle near Trump's Florida golf course while the then-presidential candidate was golfing. The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, was arrested and later sentenced to life in prison.
April 2026: A major security breach occurred during the White House Correspondents' Dinner while Trump was in attendance. The suspect, Cole Allen, allegedly charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, shot an officer and was later taken into custody.
Trump's first three security incidents unfolded during his 2016 campaign before he ever took office.
March 2016: An attendee at a Trump campaign rally in Dayton, Ohio, attempted to rush the stage before being arrested. The suspect, Thomas DiMassimo, 22, told police he intended to grab the microphone and shout that Trump was a racist but reportedly did not intend to harm him. He was later sentenced to one year of probation.
June 2016: Three months later, a British national attending a Trump campaign rally in Las Vegas attempted to grab a police officer's handgun from her holster, according to a federal criminal complaint. The suspect, Michael Steven Sandford, initially told an officer he wanted Trump's autograph before trying to seize the weapon and later admitting he intended to kill Trump. He was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison.
November 2016: Secret Service agents rushed Trump off the stage during a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada, after an attendee shouted "gun." Authorities found no weapon but briefly detained Austyn Crites, 33, who said he had brought a sign that said "Republicans Against Trump." Trump returned to the stage minutes later to finish his remarks.
September 2017: A man stole a forklift and drove it toward Trump's presidential motorcade in an apparent attempt to overturn the presidential limousine in North Dakota. The suspect, Gregory Lee Leingang, later pleaded guilty to federal charges and was sentenced in 2019 to time served and one year of supervised release.
October 2018: A Navy veteran in Utah was charged after ricin-laced letters addressed to Trump and other officials were intercepted before delivery. William Clyde Allen III was charged with five federal counts but was later found incompetent to assist in his defense.
August 2020: Trump was abruptly escorted out of a briefing room during a televised news conference after a Secret Service officer shot a man who threatened to kill people near the White House. The suspect, Myron Basil Berryman, 51, of Forestville, Maryland, was found unarmed and arrested on a charge of assaulting a law enforcement officer, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
September 2020: A suspect mailed a ricin-laced letter to Trump that was intercepted before reaching the White House. The sender, Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, a dual citizen of Canada and France, admitted to manufacturing ricin at her home in Canada and was later sentenced to 262 months in prison, equivalent to more than 21 years, followed by lifetime supervised release.
Trump then faced two assassination attempts and two additional threat-related incidents during his 2024 presidential campaign.
July 2024: One day prior to the Butler assassination attempt, federal authorities arrested a Pakistani national accused of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot targeting Trump and other U.S. officials on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The suspect, Asif Merchant, was later convicted in federal court in March 2026.
November 2024: After the second assassination attempt on Trump in September 2024, the Justice Department disclosed another alleged Iranian murder-for-hire plot targeting Trump. The suspect, Farhad Shakeri, was accused of being an Iranian government asset who had been tasked with planning the assassination of Trump. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in March 2026 that Shakeri had been killed in a U.S. military operation.
Just 1½ years into his second presidency, Trump has faced seven additional threat-related incidents and one assassination attempt.
May 2025: A Florida man was arraigned in federal court after allegedly writing a letter to an official at the Charlotte Correctional Institution claiming he had "orchestrated the most daring Presidential assassination that this country has ever seen" and that "Donald J. Trump must perish." The suspect, Christopher Davies, later admitted he wanted to kill Trump and was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison.
July 2025: Authorities arrested a Texas man after he allegedly threatened Trump on social media ahead of the president's visit to the state following the July 4 flooding along the Guadalupe River. The suspect, Robert Herrera, was later sentenced to two years in prison.
August 2025: Authorities arrested a Georgia man after he allegedly posted a comment on a TikTok livestream threatening to shoot Trump. The suspect, 29-year-old Jauan Rashun Porter, wrote, "So there's only one way to make America great and that is putting a bullet in between Trump's eyes." He was later sentenced to more than three years in federal prison.
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February 2026: An armed man drove into the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach as another vehicle was exiting the property. The suspect, 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin, was fatally shot by authorities.
April 2026: Officials unsealed a federal criminal complaint against a Kentucky man accused of posting a series of politically violent threats on Instagram between January and late March 2026.
The suspect, 23-year-old Kadrioan Serainity Santiago, allegedly threatened to cut Trump with a razor blade and feed his skin to stray dogs. He also threatened to kill the next member of law enforcement who interacted with him, encouraged violence against ICE agents and posted comments saying, "I’m filled with political violence."
June 2026: Law enforcement officials uncovered an alleged terrorism conspiracy targeting Trump's UFC event at the White House just four days before the mixed martial arts event was scheduled to take place. Eight men were indicted in an alleged plot to fly explosive-laden drones into the event and open fire on attendees as they fled, according to authorities.
August 2026: Authorities arrested a suspect who was allegedly photographing and recording security preparations ahead of a scheduled fundraising dinner at the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The suspect, Jeanine John Taele, 38, was found carrying a 16-round magazine loaded with ammunition, while investigators recovered an additional pistol and a fake "security protection agent" badge from his truck.