JAKARTA - The shooting action targeting US President Donald Trump during a White House Correspondents Association dinner has raised concerns about the US' role as host in securing the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The suspect, an American citizen armed with a rifle, pistol, and several knives, managed to break through the US Secret Service checkpoint at the Washington Hilton hotel where the event took place on Saturday, April 25 local time. A law enforcement officer was shot in the incident.
The incident is seen as a major security lapse by football fans and fans around the world, millions of whom support their national teams at the 2026 World Cup tournament to be held in the US along with Canada and Mexico on June 11-19.
The US will host 78 of the 104 matches of the 2026 World Cup, which is expected to draw 5-10 million soccer fans from around the world to the US. However, many of them have expressed concerns about the safety of their teams, even their own safety, after the shooting of Trump.
"Their security service [the US Secret Service] itself let one person with a rifle enter the most secure building in the world, and missed every shot at him. How will the players be safe?" wrote a football fan in his post on the X social media account.
Others questioned how fans and tourists would be safe during the prestigious soccer tournament if the president of the host country had been the target of an attack.
This is not the first time Trump has been the target of an assassination attempt. Trump was lightly wounded in the ear after a man opened fire during the billionaire property campaign in Pennsylvania in July 2024.
In the same year, there was an attempt to assassinate Trump who was playing golf in Florida. The suspect was convicted in September 2025.
However, security observer Massimiliano Montanari believes that the shooting of Trump in the US capital will not affect the security of the 2026 World Cup matches in the US.
"It is undeniable that this shooting raises additional concerns, but with or without this shooting, the US Secret Service continues to give the highest level of attention to the president," Montanari told Al Jazeera.
Despite the security of the Trump-era US president who has repeatedly failed to plan assassination attempts, Montanari believes that the US security and counter-terrorism experience can be relied on in formulating all the necessary steps in the organization of the 2026 World Cup.
"The world is in a moment of great pressure; some international turmoil is happening right now, and the shooting will not change the perception of fans who come to the US," he added.
In addition to attempts to assassinate Trump while he was president, mass shootings have become common in the US. According to the non-profit research group Gun Violence Archive, so far in 2026, the US has faced more than 126 shooting incidents resulting in more than 3,100 deaths and 5,300 injuries.
Some critics have also questioned whether Trump's presence at the 2026 World Cup in the US would put fans at risk and negatively impact their experience of the tournament.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
