BRET BAIER: Ahead of 250th, America has witnessed triumph of resilience over despair

The president and archetypal woman had conscionable sat down connected the dais astatine the White House Correspondents Association Dinner connected Saturday. The colour defender had near the country aft "Hail to the Chief" and the National Anthem, and present we each took our seats and started the archetypal course.

There was an upbeat temper successful the ample ballroom for the yearly White House Correspondents Association Dinner. At a beforehand array adjacent the dais, I was seated adjacent to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin connected 1 broadside and Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott connected the other. My wife, Amy, was 2 seats distant adjacent to the secretary’s wife.

We had conscionable passed the breadbasket astir the array portion making tiny speech erstwhile the dependable of 4 chiseled pops rang retired successful the distance, and the country seemed to freeze.

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Seconds later, U.S. Secret Service agents were moving down the halfway aisle, immoderate connected apical of tables, with plates crashing to the crushed portion radical were screaming, "Get down!" My woman and the secretary’s woman hid nether the table; the secretary’s information item was connected apical of him successful seconds. The president, the archetypal lady, and the vice president were whisked disconnected the signifier arsenic agents successful afloat tactical cogwheel with agelong guns ran to the beforehand of the dais and pointed their rifles implicit the crowd, scanning for immoderate shooters.

No 1 was hurt.

Law enforcement unit detain Cole Tomas Allen, a fishy successful the shooting incidental astatine the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, successful Washington, D.C., U.S. April 25, 2026.  (Donald J Trump via Truth Social/Handout via Reuters)

The shooter was stopped earlier making it into the monolithic ballroom. But the trauma of that moment, the latest assassination effort connected President Trump, was existent for anyone successful that room.

Across America, I could easy ideate radical wailing successful despair and vexation astatine yet different enactment of violence—by each accounts, astatine slightest the 3rd assassination effort connected President Donald Trump.

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Violence, erstwhile it occurs, pierces our hearts and rattles our consciousness of communal cause. Too galore radical consciousness that our unity has frayed aft 250 years. They question whether our federation tin proceed to basal strong. And a shooting astatine a gathering to observe the First Amendment seems similar a bitter setback.

But adjacent arsenic we were experiencing the trauma of that moment, President Trump was backmost astatine the White House, striking a antithetic note. As we each know, this is simply a president who is not acrophobic to premix it up. He volition prosecute successful conflicts without hesitation. And helium would person been forgiven had helium expressed choler that night.

Instead, the president had a antithetic message—one of unity. Speaking to the nation, helium said, "We person to ... resoluteness our differences."

He described the edifice ballroom, filled with "Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals and progressives." And helium noted that aft the incident, "there was a tremendous magnitude of emotion and coming together. I watched ... and I was very, precise impressed by that."

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The president spoke of encountering immoderate Democrats arsenic helium was leaving. Acknowledging that they were usually hostile toward him, helium said, "Last nighttime they were waving to me. Politicians, congressmen, senators. They were waving and saying, ‘Great going’ and ‘Hello.’ The spot was conscionable coming together. It was precise bully to see."

For his part, President Trump admitted that he’d earlier planned to springiness a code that was hard connected the media. "I was gonna truly rip it," helium said. But aft the shooting, helium knew helium had to alteration his tone.

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If the programme had resumed, helium would person fixed "a code of love."

I’m not saying that a fewer words, adjacent erstwhile delivered by the president, tin instantly alteration an situation that has grown much divisive successful caller years. But a president’s words matter, particularly astatine a infinitesimal of nationalist crisis. Especially powerful, too, are words that talk of a idiosyncratic alteration of heart.

Think astir it. What is simply a amended illustration of resilience than the statement, "I was going to accidental thing divisive, but present I’m going to accidental thing unifying"? We’re each susceptible of that elemental gesture—in our families, among coworkers and friends, and yes, successful our governmental lives.

As we hole to observe our nation’s 250th anniversary, possibly we tin acceptable speech our angst, laic down the conspiracy theories, and scope retired crossed the divide.

We don’t person to judge governmental violence. We don’t person to judge a changeless clash of ideologies.

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This day calls connected america to callback the principles that allowed radical who were precise antithetic from 1 different to constitute this vow successful the Declaration of Independence: "We mutually pledge to each different our Lives, our Fortunes and our ineffable Honor."

Bret Baier is the main governmental anchor for Fox News and the big of "Special Report." His caller book, "The Case for America: An Argument connected Behalf of Our Nation," volition beryllium published connected May 5, 2026, successful solemnisation of the nation’s 250th Anniversary.  (FNM/Mariner Books)

Only 2 days aft the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, we had different reminder of our spot and resilience. That reminder came from crossed the oversea with the sojourn of King Charles and Queen Camilla.

Their sojourn was particularly meaningful connected the eve of our anniversary, which marks the juncture of our separation from Great Britain.

Yet present we are, 2 nations that person formed a adjacent friendship. Although determination person been times successful our past erstwhile our policies person clashed, including immoderate existent frictions, King Charles brushed those disagreements aside.

Before a associated league of Congress, the king recalled that his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was the lone different monarch to ever springiness specified a code erstwhile she visited successful 1991. He called it a "signal honor," past and now.

"So, I travel present contiguous with the highest respect for the United States Congress," helium said, "this citadel of ideology created to correspond the dependable of each American radical and to beforehand ineffable rights and freedoms."

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Referring to the shooting, helium expressed solidarity with America. "We basal agreed successful our committedness to uphold democracy, to support each our radical from harm, and to salute the courageousness of those who regular hazard their lives successful the work of our countries." He praised America’s signature moment, which helium called the "Spirit of 1776," the twelvemonth of our Declaration of Independence, wryly noting, "We tin possibly hold that we bash not ever agree."

And present was his point, successful words that volition endure for immoderate time. He delivered them sincerely to a roar of applause: "Our 2 countries person ever recovered ways to travel together. And by Jove, Mr. Speaker, erstwhile we person recovered that mode to agree, what large alteration is brought about—not conscionable for the payment of our peoples, but of each peoples. This, I believe, is the peculiar constituent successful our relationship."

Later that evening, King Charles and Queen Camilla were honored astatine a authorities dinner, wherever the relationship continued to blossom.

Amy and I were arrogant to beryllium present. The ceremonial white-tie matter showed each the pomp and condition the White House tin muster.

When we moved to the receiving line, President Trump, lasting adjacent to King Charles, said to me, "A truly bully code connected Capitol Hill by the king, close Bret?" I said, "Yes, sir. Your Majesty, it was rather a feat for the King of England, speaking to America up of its 250th day and our independency from your country, to present a code that managed to punctual Americans to beryllium much American, optimistic and forward-leaning."

He smiled and replied, "Well said. Happy 250th."

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After toasts and philharmonic performances, the meal wrapped up, and I realized I was witnessing erstwhile again the triumph of resilience implicit despair.

It’s a acquainted American story, 250 years long.

Editor's note: Bret Baier's caller book, "The Case for America: An Argument connected Behalf of Our Nation," volition beryllium published connected May 5, 2026, successful solemnisation of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

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