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The Lead with Jake Tapper

King Charles Begins High-Stakes Visit To U.S.; Shooting Suspect Charged With Attempting To Assassinate Trump; Now: King & Queen Attending British Embassy Garden Party. Aired 5:00-6p ET

Aired April 27, 2026 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[17:00:00]

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I was down on the floor. I was not calmly eating salad. I don't know about you all. But I guess had talked to Michael.

BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: (INAUDIBLE) any wine on the way out.

(LAUGHTER)

HUNT: Oh, I saw no small amount of that.

UNKNOWN: Yes.

HUNT: Some of that ended up at the White House, I think.

UNKNOWN: I think so. And I think that they should have. There was an open wine go wasted. It has already been bought.

HUNT: I will say to Michael, while I both appreciate his sentiment that there were many law enforcements there to protect us, I was actually like, OK, kind of get out of the way of that because they're about to start protecting us and my head needs to be down so they can turn their (INAUDIBLE).

Anyway, thank you very much for being with us today. Don't go anywhere. "The Lead with Jake Tapper" starts right now.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is "CNN Breaking News."

JAKE TAPPER, CNN LEAD WASHINGTON ANCHOR: Welcome to "The Lead." I'm Jake Tapper. And we are live and exclusive from the British Embassy in Washington D.C. The British Embassy is hosting today's "World Lead." In just moments, we're expected to see the king of England, King Charles III, alongside Queen Camilla after touching down here in Washington, D.C. just a few hours ago. Soon, the royal couple will be here at the embassy for a garden party hosted by British Ambassador Chris Turner and Lady Turner celebrating the British royal couple.

Moments ago, we saw them at the White House. They met privately with President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for tea. This is day one of a four-day state visit for the king and queen and the diplomatic stakes are very high. President Trump has said the state of the so- called special relationship is not good because the UK is not fighting Iran alongside the United States. Trump has even reportedly called British Prime Minister Keir Starmer a -- quote -- "loser." He compared him to Hitler appeaser, former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. So, it's a big challenge for the king and a significant moment here on this British compound that houses both the embassy and the British ambassador's residence.

It has been 87 years since a royal garden party was held at this location. The last, in 1939, hosted by Queen Elizabeth and her father, King George VI, the grandfather of King Charles. That was the first reigning British monarch to visit the United States since we declared independence from Great Britain 250 years ago in 1776.

As for King Charles, this marks his 19th trip to the United States. This is his first formal state visit as the British monarch. Of course, security is top of mind here for this state visit just two days after the attempted assassination of President Trump and members of his administration Saturday night at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. Thankfully, nobody was hurt.

Today, the suspect in that case, 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen, had his first appearance in federal court. There were no cameras there. But authorities say surveillance video shared by President Trump showed this suspect Saturday night bolting through security in the hotel lobby. Secret Service agents quickly responding. Cameras inside the ballroom captured the sound of their gunfire.

(GUNSHOTS)

Within seconds, a rush of security officials and people ducking under tables. Another camera captured the visible shock of First Lady Melania Trump hearing the gunshots, then Secret Service agents quickly escorting members of the head table off the stage.

Today, the would-be assassin was charged with attempting to assassinate the president and discharging a firearm during a violent crime and transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce.

I want to bring in CNN's Kaitlan Collins with me here at the British Embassy. And Kaitlan, on the same day that the president is meeting with royalty, this gunman has been charged with attempting to assassinate him and members of his administration. Now, we should note that almost immediately, we saw allies of the president saying this proves why the president needs his ballroom. And then today, we saw both the president and the first lady trying to use this horrific assassination attempt in an effort to silence Jimmy Kimmel. How is the president balancing all these duties and things he needs to focus on today?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, I think two things can be true. One is, you know, that this is the third assassination attempt as it was, you know, formally declared in court today with this charge against this person that the president has faced an assassination attempt. And so, for the White House, it feels all too familiar.

TAPPER: Yes.

COLLINS: A situation that they've been through so many times between Butler, the time at Mar-a-Lago, and now this. I think the real question that has been facing the White House, though, is the security, and going into Saturday night, how that changes, how things move going forward because yes, as the president said on Saturday night and Markwayne Mullin, the DHS secretary, they don't think that the Secret Service did anything wrong. I think their question is how things could be changed going forward --

TAPPER: Yes.

COLLINS: -- because, obviously, protocols need to be -- to be different.

[17:04:57]

And Karoline Leavitt, who is about to go on maternity leave, actually was not supposed to return to the -- to the briefing room. She did earlier today to say that yes, there are things that are being reexamined in terms of how they do things. They're not criticizing the Secret Service leadership, but they're just saying this proves why we need to change it potentially. And also, you know, questions like J.D. Vance, the vice president, being, you know,

TAPPER: He was escorted first.

COLLINS: And also, just being 20 feet away from the president on stage. That's obviously a security concern in and of itself. I mean, they don't go in the same motorcade, they don't fly on the same plane for this very reason typically. And so, those are all things that the White House has acknowledged, are questions that they are looking at in light of what happened on Saturday.

TAPPER: Yes. I think it's worth pointing out that the would-be assassin did not make it to the floor where we were.

COLLINS: Right.

TAPPER: He was --

COLLINS: We were at the same table.

TAPPER: Yes. And he was apprehended a floor up. So, I mean, that -- that is an important thing in a way the system work. But security was not as tight at the event as other events that we've been to in the past. And even the shooter, in his manifesto, was making comments about how lax the security was.

COLLINS: Right. I mean, he was saying that he couldn't believe he got through, that he was able to check into the hotel. Obviously, he had all the weapons on him when he checked into the hotel. And, you know, Jake, as you know, when you're going into that event, I mean, it's a pre-open lobby as you're going in to where the security is. I think those are the concerns that have been raised within the White House in terms of what that looks like going forward.

TAPPER: Yes.

COLLINS: But the president has also been clear he wants to redo the dinner. He still has made clear -- and I've been hearing, privately, he has been suggesting other venues to officials.

TAPPER: He's got some zingers he wants to get out, I think.

COLLINS: Yes. I mean, I also think, you know, after Butler, he returned to Butler, remember?

TAPPER: Yes. He doesn't want this. He said that that night, I don't want this kind of person --

COLLINS: Exactly.

TAPPER: -- to interrupt what we're doing. Let's talk about the state visit. We're just learning that before today, before today, King Charles privately contacted the president and the first lady to express his sympathies and the queen's sympathies with all those affected on Saturday night, and they expressed their gratitude to the security services who prevented further injury.

COLLINS: Yes.

TAPPER: And we should not belittle the Herculean task before the king to repair this relationship because, you know, President Trump is calling the prime minister a loser.

COLLINS: And saying he's no Winston Churchill and, you know. I mean --

TAPPER: Never liked Neville Chamberlain.

COLLINS: That's the most polite thing he has probably said about him. And he's saying way worse publicly -- I mean, privately, as I've learned. I mean, one thing that the British officials have said publicly is the king doesn't get involved in politics and day to day issues. Obviously, though, they know how taken and impressed the president is with the royal family. He always talks about his mom and the queen. And so, they are hoping that this will help soothe those tensions. And there was the call between the president and Keir Starmer yesterday. And so, they're hoping this visit will remind the president of the importance of the U.K., that relationship, the alliance, and hopefully ease those tensions with Keir Starmer who is obviously not here.

TAPPER: Yes. So, yes, the king is not the prime minister, but the king has something the prime minister doesn't have, which is decades of fame and his charm and a gravitas that the president, quite frankly, all world leaders, look up to in one way or another.

COLLINS: Yes.

TAPPER: Kaitlan, go have some champagne. We'll bring you back in a little bit. I want to bring in right now our justice team. CNN's Katelyn Polantz is outside the D.C. federal courthouse. CNN's Evan Perez is back at the bureau. Katelyn, to you first. Walk us through the charges and tell us more about the alleged shooter's demeanor in court.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Jake, we did see Cole Allen for the first time in federal court today, here in this building on the second floor. He appeared before a magistrate judge. It was a pretty short hearing. It was enough to keep him behind bars, at least for the next couple days as they prepare for another hearing. We also got access to the charges for the first time, written in a court document, a criminal complaint.

In court today, he was quite confident. He's a very, very tall man. He spoke with a voice that was quite powerful into the microphone. I've heard a lot of defendants speak in this courthouse. He was quite -- he was very enunciative as he was speaking his name, as he was responding to the judge. Yes, your honor. No, your honor. He was also reading quite carefully those charges in front of them. They were on a piece of paper. And the prosecutors had also handed him and his defense team, at one point, photocopies of images of the guns that were found with him on Saturday night.

But those charges, Jake, we're getting a little bit more about what they are. The cornerstone charge here, it's the attempt to assassinate the president of the United States, Donald Trump. In this, there was a Justice Department press conference afterwards, and the acting attorney general made quite clear that behind that is that alleged manifesto that Cole Allen wrote and sent to his family and a former employer. There are also some firearm charges that reflect him allegedly firing off his rifle inside the Capitol Hilton, outside the ballroom.

[17:10:05]

And then also the allegation of him transporting firearms from California to Washington D.C. We know he did that on a train in the days before the dinner. The FBI has already put together some initial information from this, from what happened on Saturday night, Jake. And the description is quite dramatic of what happened when we were inside the ballroom. It says that Cole Allen approached and ran through the magnetometer, holding a long gun.

As he did so, U.S. Secret Service personnel assigned to the checkpoint heard a loud gunshot. U.S. Secret Service Officer V.G. was shot once in the chest. The officer was wearing a ballistic vest at the time. And then that same officer drew his service weapon and fired multiple times at Cole Allen who fell to the ground and suffered minor injuries but was not shot.

He was subsequently arrested. We know that he has not spoken to investigators at this point. He has a federal public defender. There's going to be a detention hearing on Thursday. And U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, this is clearly a big case for her. She was even in the courtroom today watching Allen make his initial appearance. Jake? TAPPER: And Evan, how is Secret Service reviewing its security at the hotel where the dinner was, and how do you think this is going to impact any of President Trump's events going forward?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the remarkable things about this, Jake, is we've seen, certainly from the White House, from the President, and today again from the Justice Department, the acting attorney general emphasizing they view this as a massive success story by the Secret Service.

But I can tell you that behind the scenes, they're also asking some very important questions about whether there needs to be even more security added to events like this one. For instance, the idea that this gunman was able to check in at the last minute just a day before this event did not have to go through any additional screening. His luggage did not go through a magnetometer. He didn't have to go through any of that, that we see, for instance, used at the U.N. General Assembly, which is another big event where you have the president of the United States and foreign leaders visiting.

We also know that, from the documents in court today, the gunman, essentially the alleged gunman, fell. So, we've heard from the president, we've heard from the acting attorney general. They say he was tackled by the Secret Service. That appears to not be the case. So, one of the things that we expect is going to happen now is also review, as Kaitlan was pointing out, whether you should have the president, the vice president, and all of these cabinet officials in one location because, again, because of what happened on Saturday, it could have gone so much worse. Jake?

TAPPER: Yes, the president, the vice president, the speaker of the House all in the same room with the absolute worst has had happened. The president pro tempore of the Senate would be the president right now. That is Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa who, I believe, is 90 years young. He would be running the country right now.

Katelyn Polantz and Evan Perez, thank you so much. We're going to have much more from the British Embassy and the state visit of King Charles and Queen Camilla. Beyond the formalities, we're going to talk about why this trip is so important for international relations. Things are not great between the U.S. and U.K. leaders right now. We're going to get into that, next.

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[17:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to "The lead." We are live and exclusive from the British Embassy here in Washington, D.C. Any moment now, King Charles and Queen Camilla will arrive here, just behind me, for a formal garden party in this very high-stakes diplomatic visit where the king is going to try to repair the, shall we say, frayed U.S.-U.K. relationship. Let's bring in some voices to help us watch today's events. We have with me right here in the garden party, Philip Reeker. He served as charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in London. Is it charge d'affaires or charge affaires?

PHILIP REEKER, FORMER CHARGE D'AFFAIRES, U.S. EMBASSY IN LONDON: It depends where you come from.

TAPPER: OK. What do you say?

REEKER: I say charge.

TAPPER: I say charge d'affaires. OK, I'll defer to you. Also with me, CNN royal commentator Sally Bedell Smith, and also, of course, CNN's Richard Quest. And Richard, I'll start with you. The garden party, it's the second stop of the king's visit. He also went to the White House earlier. What are you hearing about how things went earlier this afternoon with the royal couple meeting with the first couple?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: I think what we've seen says really it all, the warmth of that initial greeting, the king and queen arriving. Interestingly, the queen wearing -- her coat is Dior. Underneath, she has an embroidered ivory dress. But the king and queen, we had national anthems at the airport. And then here, just watch this. This is pure gold in a sense. The way in which Melania comes in to give a kiss to the queen, and then for the king. Now, as you know, the president, not much of a kisser, so lots of shaking hands there, but a warmth of welcome there, which is really undeniable.

The two men have met several many times. They know each other. They know what they disagree on, and I think that's crucial to understand over the next 48 hours. They know that they don't see eye to eye on things like climate change, windmills, all those sort of hot button issues for Charles and indeed for the president. And my guess is that because of that, they stay as far away as possible.

The risk here, if such there be, is that the president can't help having a dig at Charles's British prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer.

TAPPER: Yes, he sure has. And Philip, so, I don't have time to go through everything President Trump has said or done that has upset our European allies.

[17:19:55]

A short list might include calling Keir Starmer a loser, belittling the sacrifice that European troops have made in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, belittling the British Navy, comparing Keir Starmer to Neville Chamberlain, threatening to seize Greenland. Again, I don't have all time. Can this trip, can the king repair this relationship?

REEKER: Look, I think the king is here really to speak to the American people. Obviously, we've seen the warm welcome that the president and first lady have given the king and queen. That's a good start. We know that President Trump can turn this on and turn this off. The names he calls people are pretty standard. We're used to that. The level of contempt he can show to allies and non-allies alike is something, I think, people are used to.

The king will speak to all of us, and we'll have these pomp and circumstance just as we had in the state visit that the president and first lady made to U.K. last year. But he'll also speak to Congress, the people's representatives. And in Congress, will be invited the members of the Supreme Court. So, we'll have all three parts of the U.S. government.

The king is very aware of this. I've spoken to him when he was the prince of Wales, and he's quite knowledgeable about American history, how it intersects with British history, and how that is the setting for this remarkable relationship. Special or not, it's enduring.

TAPPER: Yes.

REEKER: And regardless of who is in number 10 Downing Street or who is in the White House, I think this will continue.

TAPPER: And Sally, I didn't mention in my long list there the president's main gripe with the U.K., which is that the U.K. is not militarily helping the United States in its operations, its military operations, its war against Iran. Why is this trip happening right now? How long has it been planned for now?

SALLY BEDELL SMITH, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: Well, the invitation, I think, was issued months ago. And I think that what I heard actually last November is that even though it was several months in advance of the actual commemoration on July 4th, that King Charles really wanted to come here sooner and that he wanted to be able to not only meet with the president and first lady and other dignitaries, but his emphasis was going to be and is going to be on the 250 years of our relationship and to emphasize all the ways, all of the commonalities, all our shared values, the principles of democracy, the magna carta leading to the Declaration of Independence.

And I should add, and you said earlier that the king had been here 19 times, he's actually been here 24 times, which is a kind of astonishing number. A lot of those visits came under the radar. But he has traveled extensively in this country. He at one point in 1977 visited 12 cities in 13 days. He has been to Hollywood, I think, three times. A period of time, he even had an American girlfriend in 1974. He has many American friends.

One of his really long-term advisers told me that he had derived a lot of his ideas for initiatives in the U.K. when he once went to Middletown in New England. He came back here and said, I want to do a regeneration project just like they did there. So, I guess the bottom line is he may have a better understanding of this country and its leaders than many Americans do. And he has met many of the leaders. His last real visit here --

TAPPER: Indeed.

BEDELL SMITH: -- was in 2015 when he met in the Oval Office -- TAPPER: Indeed. Yes.

BEDELL SMITH: -- with Barack Obama and Joe Biden. That is the last time he was in the Oval Office.

TAPPER: So, thank you so much, everyone. Everyone, stick around. We're told that the royal couple has left the White House and they are headed here. Coming up next, we're going to talk more about the agenda for this four-day state visit and the king's attempt to repair relationships. He's going to make a trip to New York also. You're watching "The Lead" live from the British Embassy. We're the only ones. We're back in a moment.

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[17:25:00]

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TAPPER: Welcome back to "The Lead" live and exclusive, not to be braggy, from the British Embassy to the United States here in Washington, D.C. King Charles and Queen Camilla are attending a formal garden party being thrown for them by the ambassador and Lady Turner.

The panel is back with me. We are expecting the king and queen to arrive any moment. Richard Quest, during this visit, Queen Camilla is expected to meet representatives of groups campaigning against domestic violence. This is an issue that she's activist about. Tell us more about her plans here.

QUEST: Yes. Well, firstly, congratulations to getting through the -- through the front gate of that magnificent (INAUDIBLE) mansion that is absolutely the pride of the British -- of the diplomatic corps right up on the top of the hill in Washington. The Brits have had it -- we've had it for years and we ain't giving it up despite several attempts to --

(LAUGHTER)

We're going to keep it.

[17:29:55]

But back to a serious point, look, those survivors of Epstein have been highly critical of the royals for not agreeing to meet with the royals. And indeed, you know, the -- some of the late Virginia Giuffre's relatives have said, look, all they wanted to do was have a respectful meeting with the King and Queen to put their point of view and leave it at that.

Instead, a sort of messy compromise because clearly the royals were never going to actually meet the survivors because, A, it would enmesh them into something that's -- that is not controversial but would be extremely difficult. Secondly, of course, the King's brother, Andrew, has been arrested and is potentially facing charges concerning actions relating to Jeffrey Epstein and the whole business.

So they've got this messy compromise in a sense where they're going to meet victims of domestic abuse. I think it's point -- very briefly, it is important to say the moment Andrew was arrested, the King put out a personal statement basically saying the law must take its course. No favors, paraphrasing, nothing else. This will continue.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Very interesting. And Philip Reeker, let me ask you, it was a big story when we learned that King Charles had cancer. What do we know about -- images can be deceiving. What do we know if anything?

PHILIP REEKER, FORMER CHARGE D'AFFAIRES, U.S. EMBASSY IN LONDON: He's certainly looking well, as you said. And the fact that the palace opened up enough to say the King has -- the Princess of Wales said the same thing. And it was a new phase for the royal family where the health of the monarch and the close members of the family are closely guarded and not discussed, of course, whispered and gossiped about.

It's good to see the king looking well. We understand that he continues to get treatments and obviously he's got the best health care and we wish him very well because he's got good genes. His mother certainly showed that in a long, long life.

TAPPER: Look at these images coming in from the tea that was held at the White House earlier today. Pretty interesting. You see the Queen and the First Lady chatting and President Trump and the King having what looks like an interesting conversation. Sally, as long as we're talking about the royals health problems, what do we know about how Catherine, the Princess of Wales is doing? She also disclosed that she was fighting cancer. How is she doing?

SALLY BEDELL SMITH, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: Well, she appears to be doing very well. As you know, she, in January of 2025, she announced that she had stopped her chemotherapy. And then I believe it was the following fall. She said that she was in remission. She had been declared to be in remission, which is very, very good news. And she has, in the months since then, she's really carried out a pretty active schedule. She looks good. She seems to have a lot of energy. And so I think that we can assume that she's doing very well and that we hope for a long, long time the cancer battle will be behind her.

TAPPER: All right, everyone, stick around. Thank you so much. We're going to take a quick break. We're going to have much more from the British Embassy. And we're going to discuss the delicate dance of diplomacy happening behind these ceremonial events and the need to repair the so called special relationship between the U.S. and the U.K.

[17:33:47]

But first, new details coming in about the suspect in Saturday's attack at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner and the rather controversial and divisive attempts to now silence criticism and media coverage of the President since. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: We're back live at exclusive from the British Embassy to the United States here in Washington, D.C. where King Charles and Queen Camilla are attending a formal garden party in this high stakes diplomatic visit where the King will attempt to repair the frayed U.S.-U.K. Relationship. We're expecting the King and Queen to arrive at any moment.

This visit comes as we learn more about the alleged gunman who at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. CNN's Kyung Lah is outside the suspect's home in Torrance, California. It's about 20 miles south of Los Angeles. Kyung, what more are you learning about him?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we haven't seen much activity at the home here in Torrance, California, but this is where he lived with his parents. What we've been able to gather is that he is 31 years old, Cole Tomas Allen. He grew up here in Torrance and he is, according to the Department of Justice, when he was arrested armed with a pistol and shotgun when he was detained.

He went on to be a part time teacher, also developed video games and he graduated from Caltech. It's a difficult school to get into with a mechanical engineering degree. While he was at Caltech, he belonged to a Christian fellowship group, according to social media photos. And even in 2017, he was featured having developed a prototype wheelchair break. I want you to take a listen to this old news clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:40:01]

COLE TOMAS ALLEN, SHOOTING SUSPECT: The wheelchair brakes tend to lock the wheels but don't actually lock the chair to the ground. The idea with this is to prevent it from moving at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: He would go on to get a master's degree at another university. So when did this turn happen? Well, in reviewing some social media posts belonging to him, or at least that we -- that appear to belong to him. In 2022, he seemed to be posting really largely video game playing. And then things started to change in 2024 where he was becoming much more political.

He was retweeting things about the Trump administration, retweeting a post that compared the president, Donald Trump, to Hitler. His sister said that he had been getting more politically active. Even, Jake, belonging and joining a left wing group that did in on their page say that they are anti-violence. But it is important to note that it does appear from 2022, at least socially into 2024 there was some type of change. Jake?

TAPPER: All right, Kyung Lah in Torrance, California, thanks so much. Let us discuss now two important aspects of what has happened in the United States since the horrific attempted assassination on President Trump members of the Trump administration. And let me be clear at the very outset that the violence is horrific and should be condemned by everyone. I'll get into the responsibility that we all have to help bring down the temperature in a second.

But first, let me touch on the news today and what was perhaps inevitable that the Trump administration would try to use Saturday's horrific act of violence to try to clamp down on criticism and free speech. Today, the President and the First Lady Melania Trump, citing a joke that comedian Jimmy Kimmel made last Thursday on his show, tried to connect that joke with the assassination attempt.

Now there is zero evidence, zero evidence that the would-be alleged assassin heard the joke. In fact, authorities say the suspect left California for Washington, D.C. by train on Tuesday. So his trip to D.C. started long before Jimmy Kimmel told this joke on Thursday night airing this pretend correspondence dinner skit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": And of course, our First Lady Melania is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Earlier today the First Lady tweeted, "Kimmel's monologue about my family isn't comedy. His words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC's leadership enable Kimmel's atrocious behavior at the expense of our community."

This in response to a joke she did not like. This afternoon, President Trump followed with a Truth Social post that said, "This is something far beyond the pale. Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC." There was more.

But let us just take this moment and say, is it fair to judge Jimmy Kimmel's joke in light of what happened at the dinner two nights later? White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Saturday, shortly before the shooting, that President Trump's speech would be funny and there would be, "Shots fired," which, of course, when not taken literally, refers to humorous insults.

Does anyone out there think that Karoline Leavitt had any idea what would happen? I don't. Does anyone out there think that Jimmy Kimmel had any idea what happened, what would happen? I don't. Now do I think both, in retrospect, would choose their words differently in retrospect, given what happened on Saturday night? Of course.

But this crusade against Kimmel was predictable because the Trump administration's attempt to use Saturday's shooting as justification to stop all critical coverage, whether journalistic or comedic of Donald Trump. That started even before the ballroom emptied because Kari Lake, the election denier who's currently in charge of Voice of America, she approached a CNN table after the shooting and blamed journalists for the attempted attack and personally insulted one of our correspondents as a, "Midget." She then went outside and trailed me for about a block. I was trying to ignore her.

She was saying that I was responsible for what happened. CNN's responsible for what happened. And that unhinged rant by someone who, frankly, obviously needs help is now being matched with social media posts and more from the White House trying to use this horrific tragedy to demonize any criticism as calls for violence. And the President has been making literal calls for violence since 2015.

I'm not even going to go into them. You're familiar with them. But literal calls for violence. Now, a reminder that the President's tone immediately after the attack on Saturday was praised by Democrats and Republicans, and it was far more conciliatory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:45:03]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our difference peacefully. We have to resolve our differences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: That sentiment clearly did not last long. And let us turn now to this deranged, alleged would be assassin whose writings clearly seem to be from someone on the left. And there is a problem with violence on the left in the United States. And there is a problem with violence on the right in the United States. And to debate which one is worse is honestly to avoid the problem. It's all awful. It all needs to stop.

Now, there was a time when people who tried to justify violence against anyone were considered fringe lunatics. Today, a lot of them are called influencers. Social media companies have figured out how to commodify the hate that they push. It's pushed by these twisted algorithms, too.

And politicians and pundits are increasingly lending their credibility to these influencers. And those politicians and pundits are playing a role in this, too. It is a big problem of calls for violence and dehumanization, and it's getting worse. But it is not a problem to be wielded like a cudgel to try to stop journalism or jokes.

Journalism and jokes are not calls for violence. Calls for violence are calls for violence. And far too many Americans in positions of power and influence are too blase and too glib about those who make them.

We're going to show some live pictures right now. We see on the patio right behind me, King Charles and Queen Camilla. They have arrived here at the embassy. You see, right next to King Charles is the British ambassador, Sir Christian Turner. And Lady Turner is next to the Queen. They have arrived. Let's listen in.

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TAPPER: All right. We just heard the chorus here singing "God Save the Queen" and then, of course, the American national anthem. And moments ago, the King and Queen inside the British Embassy here participated in an event to put objects in a time capsule. That's before this evening garden party with their involvement. All part of a very high stakes diplomatic mission to try to repair strained relations between the U.S. and the U.K. and also, of course, to honor the United States of America in our 250th birthday celebration.

[17:50:24]

Philip, does he have his mic? OK. Yes. Philip, just joining us here. How is this special relationship going right now, the relationship between the U.S. and the U.K.?

REEKER: Look, I'd say there are tensions at the political level. We've seen that. We're all talking about it between number 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister, the White House, President Trump. But overall, what we just witnessed tells you that the United States and the United Kingdom have a particular bond with the King, the great, great, great, great grandson of the King from whom we declared independence.

TAPPER: That's five greats, five greats for those counting. I spent a lot of time earlier today trying to figure out how many greats, but, yes.

REEKER: But it is a direct line.

TAPPER: Yes, from the mad king.

REEKER: It tells you something about that. We have a common language. We share the common law. There's so many things in terms of our popular culture, in terms of investment and finance, the relationship is far greater than one administration or one government.

It's his government that serves in the name of the King and the crown, but he represents the state, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. And I think the people of the United States understand that broadly. And I think President Trump probably understands that, too. And that's why we're going to see a good visit, a positive visit, and we'll let the ups and downs of the geopolitics and the politics take its course. But I am convinced that the United Kingdom and the United States will continue to be united.

TAPPER: Richard Quest, this visit was initially delayed because of the beginning of the war on Iran, February 28th, two months ago tomorrow, up until the last minute, there was speculation it would be delayed again, especially after that horrific assassination attempt on President Trump and his cabinet. Why did the king go ahead with the visit?

QUEST: Keep calm and carry on. I mean, that's the truth of it, Jake. That is the way, look, that's what happened with President Trump on Saturday night. He'd have happily gone back into that ballroom and given his speech. He had to be forced not to do it. The royal family just keep going.

And when you look at King Charles, you're looking at somebody who has been doing this for the best part of 50, 60 years, 50 years. He is an expert at what he is doing. I mean he's been doing it far longer than anybody else who's out there. So his ability to get the tone right, to be diplomatic, to know how to massage this to the best advantage of both, that's the brilliance of the system.

And you know, when I see something like this, for all its flaws, it makes you realize the sort of the monarchy as seen in the U.K., the Constitution, constitutional monarchy works pretty well at the moment.

TAPPER: And Sally, this visit is being compared to a 1957 trip that Queen Elizabeth made to the United States after the Suez Crisis.

SMITH: Yes.

TAPPER: This is when President Dwight Eisenhower was in charge. Remind us what happened there?

SMITH: Well, what happened was the Suez crisis was conducted behind the back of the United States and Dwight Eisenhower was very upset and he intervened. And in the end Britain was sort of shamed because it had to withdraw. So it was a really fraught moment in American British relations.

Interestingly enough, in my research I discovered that the one who sort of put, who sort of calmed things down after that was Churchill who wrote a letter to Eisenhower, who obviously he knew very well and said let's put this aside, let's focus on our main enemy, which is the Soviet Union.

And the Queen chimed in and she agreed. But Macmillan, who was the Prime Minister, felt that it was necessary for the Queen to come to the United States and have a full on six-day state visit and just have that reassurance, offer that reassurance. And she made some wonderful speeches emphasizing the -- how strong the bond was.

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And interestingly enough she said that, you know, that Britain had a lot to learn from the United States and the way it did its, you know, enacted its self-determination. Also you have to know that the Queen and Eisenhower had a very, very good relationship dating back to World War II. He was a really -- he was very close to her father.

TAPPER: Yes.

SMITH: And so it was, it was an important visit and one of reassurance in the end.

TAPPER: Thanks to one and all. Appreciate it. This visit marks the 19th official trip to the United States for King Charles. This is his first formal state visit as the British Monarch. We're going to have much more from the British Embassy. Back in a moment.

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