An Attack on American Democracy. Plus. . .

It’s Monday, April 27. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Jed Rubenfeld on the Ten Commandments in classrooms. Kara Kennedy on Britain’s smoking ban. Abigail Shrier on stay-at-home dads. And much more.

But first: The dinner and the gunman.

One of the values that informs everything we do at The Free Press is a belief in the American project. Here’s how we explain what we mean by that on our website:

Our reporting and opinion can be harshly critical of our country and its leaders, but that is because we believe deeply in America and its promise. We make no apology for making distinctions between good and bad, liberalism and illiberalism, the rule of the law and mob rule, freedom and unfreedom—and we advocate forcefully for the former.

We were reminded of those distinctions on Saturday night at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C. The evening was supposed to be a lighthearted affair. Instead it became a near-tragedy that threw those distinctions, once again, into sharp relief. Good versus bad. Liberalism versus illiberalism. The rule of law versus mob rule. Freedom and unfreedom.

Today, we offer five stories on the latest incidence of political violence in America and the permission structures that make it possible. What happened, why, and how to respond.

First, in case you missed it, read the editorial we published the morning after the thwarted attack. It’s about what it takes to stay free. “The shooting,” we wrote, “is a reminder that the First Amendment alone cannot uphold free speech.” Check it out, in full, here:

The Free Press’s culture editor Freya Sanders, a native of Great Britain, was at the event and was expecting a deeply American experience. She got that—just not exactly in the way she expected. Read her reckoning with America’s unique ailments for a perspective on what Saturday night’s ordeal looked like to an outsider.

How did the shooter get so close? That’s the question Elliot Ackerman, a Marine veteran, seeks to answer in his firsthand dispatch. “The security arrangement itself was riddled with holes—holes that, as the proximity of the gunshots to the ballroom revealed, could very well have ended in catastrophe,” he writes. Read his report:

But as with any calamity, the WHCD shooting had its unsung heroes. And for Suzy Weiss, that’s men like Ackerman, who kept the people around him—in particular the young women—calm as they ducked and covered. The security teams and Secret Service agents did their jobs. But today Suzy salutes the people in the ballroom, many of them veterans, who didn’t miss a step and stayed collected amid the chaos. In short: Dudes rock.

Finally, Free Press senior editor Peter Savodnik has written extensively about the spate of political violence that has rocked America over the last few years—including diving deeply into the biographies of the young men who take such despicable and disastrous action. Read his latest on what appears to have driven the man accused of storming the dinner:

—The Editors

MORE FROM THE FREE PRESS

THE NEWS

Senator Thom Tillis announced Sunday he would drop his hold on Kevin Warsh’s Fed nomination. (Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images)

• Senator Thom Tillis announced Sunday he would drop his hold on Kevin Warsh’s Fed nomination after the Justice Department closed its criminal investigation into outgoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell—the inquiry that had led Tillis, a Republican, to block Trump’s pick in the first place. Tillis, a Trump critic who is retiring from the Senate when his term concludes next year, had been the White House’s major roadblock in replacing Powell. The Senate Banking Committee is now expected to allow Warsh’s nomination to advance.

• Following Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Trump renewed his push for his $400 million White House ballroom, calling the Washington Hilton “not a particularly secure building” and posting that the attack “would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House.”

• Trump called off Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s diplomatic mission to Pakistan over the weekend, where the two were set to sit down with Iranian negotiators. Trump said Tehran’s latest proposal wasn’t up to par, though he claimed a stronger offer arrived shortly after. Iran wants the U.S. naval blockade of its ports to end immediately, while Washington demands the removal of uranium stockpiles from the country.

• Iran has caused an estimated $5 billion in damage to U.S. military bases across the Gulf region—far more than publicly acknowledged—hitting runways, radar systems, aircraft hangars, and command infrastructure across six countries, NBC News reported Saturday. Briefings for lawmakers on the full costs of the war have been scant. “No one knows anything,” one congressional aide said. “And it’s not for lack of asking.”

• Russia’s state-owned pollster recorded President Vladimir Putin’s approval rate dropping to about 65 percent—the lowest since before his invasion of Ukraine and a 12-point slide since January. This comes as Russians grow weary of the prolonged war, a cratering economy, and tightening internet restrictions.

• Al Qaeda–linked militants simultaneously attacked targets across Mali on Saturday, claiming to have taken control of two major cities while bombing military headquarters outside the capital of Bamako and leveling the defense minister’s home. Experts say it is a sign that the group is now a force capable of nationwide warfare.

• Democrats’ prospects of flipping the Senate this November have gone from unlikely to competitive, fueled by Trump’s eroding approval ratings and widespread unease about the economy. New polling shows voters now trust Democrats more than Republicans on economic issues for the first time in 15 years. Democrats are targeting open or vulnerable seats in Maine, North Carolina, Alaska, and Ohio, while Republicans see Michigan as their best chance to go on offense.

• Trump announced he will coat the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in “American flag blue”—ditching a $301 million granite replacement for a $1.5 million fix sourced from his personal pool contractors. “You’re going to end up with a beautiful, beautiful reflecting pool,” Trump said, adding it will be ready well before July 4.