Gunfire interrupted the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 25, leading to the evacuation of President Donald Trump as a man armed with multiple weapons attempted to breach a security checkpoint at the event.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump disclosed that US law enforcement officials apprehended the suspect, identified as Cole Allen, amidst a whirlwind of controversial claims circulating on social media about the incident.
Initially, Trump urged the event organizers to continue with the dinner, only to later confirm that authorities had mandated an immediate evacuation as per protocol.
He reassured the public that the First Lady, Vice President, and Cabinet members were safe, and proceeded to share images and purported security footage of the subdued suspect.
TRUMP token experiences significant decline
The security scare marked a tumultuous day for Trump in the cryptocurrency markets.
Earlier on April 25, the president hosted a group of 297 major holders of his TRUMP memecoin at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Promoted as an exclusive gathering, the event included a speech by Trump, with a select group of 29 top holders attending a private reception and champagne toast with him.
Despite the presidential backing, the TRUMP token associated with these events has seen a drastic decline, losing over 97% of its value in the past year.
According to CryptoSlate data, the token’s price plummeted to $2.52, a nearly 20% drop from its 24-hour high, and a significant fall from its peak above $75 during the post-inauguration surge in January 2025. This also resulted in a market cap reduction of around $100 million, down to just $590 million.
The overall devaluation has been stark. Data from CoinMarketCap indicates that the token’s market cap has shrunk from nearly $10 billion early last year to approximately $618 million at the time of writing.
President Trump’s crypto involvement under scrutiny
The event has sparked increased scrutiny of Trump’s expanding presence in the crypto space, prompting calls for investigations from Democratic lawmakers.
Ethics experts have highlighted the unusual intersection between presidential authority and personal financial interests in speculative digital assets.
Furthermore, crypto experts have criticized the events and the token, with Simon Dedic, founder of venture capital firm Moonrock Capital, stating:
“The Trump memecoin dinner tonight is one of the most damaging thing that has happened to crypto’s reputation in years. Even worse than FTX or Luna. Those at least pretended to be something legitimate before they collapsed. But this is the President of the United States openly extracting from retail, in broad daylight, and calling it a gala.”
Dedic also alleged that the token linked to President Trump has taken over $4.3 billion from retail investors, while 45 insider wallets gained $1.2 billion.
Additionally, on-chain analysis revealed that most of the addresses present at the gala event “sold or transferred everything out” immediately afterward.
