President Donald Trump has become the most targeted U.S. leader on record, facing threat-related incidents approximately every two to three months in recent years. Since first taking office in 2017, Trump has survived three major assassination attempts and nearly a dozen other threat-related incidents, totaling nearly 20 known threats.

One notable assassination attempt occurred during a 2024 campaign rally when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, struck Trump in the upper right ear before being killed by a Secret Service sniper. Photos of this attempt were displayed at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 18, 2024.

In November 2016, during a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada, Secret Service agents rushed Trump off the stage after an attendee shouted "gun." Authorities found no weapon but briefly detained Austyn Crites, 33, who said he had brought a sign reading "Republicans Against Trump." Trump returned to the stage minutes later to finish his remarks.

In 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 stating, "So there's only one way to make America great and that is putting a bullet in between Trump's eyes."

Additionally, a major security breach occurred during the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April 2026 while Trump was in attendance.

By comparison, other U.S. presidents targeted in assassination attempts faced only one such incident, except President Gerald R. Ford.

These events highlight the unprecedented level of threats faced by Trump during his political career.

Sources

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Donald Trump, Secret Service, Thomas Matthew Crooks, Bethel Park, Republicans Against Trump, Charlotte Correctional Institution, White House Correspondents, Republican National Convention, America