Is political violence America's new normal?

Is political violence America's new normal?

Author: The Times April 28, 2026 Duration: 30:55

White House correspondents' dinner shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen has been charged with attempting to assassinate the president. The White House says Saturday’s attack is the third 'assassination attempt' on Donald Trump in the last two years. But what do we know about Allen? And what does this all tell us about the rise of political violence in America? 


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Guests:

  • David Charter, assistant editor, US, The Times and The Sunday Times.
  •  Nick Bryant, journalist and author of Forever War America's Unending Conflict With Itself and the Substack History Never Ended.

Host: Manveen Rana

Producers: Julia Webster and Olivia Case

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Read more: Cole Tomas Allen: who is the alleged gunman at correspondents’ dinner?

Further listening: Can King Charles fix the special relationship?

Clips: The Obama White House / YouTube, C-SPAN, OverDriveGamesAnime / YouTube, ABC, CBS, NBC, The New Yorker, KATU News.

Photo: Getty Images.

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