President Donald Trump addressed reporters Saturday night at the White House after being evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner following multiple gunshots.
U.S. Secret Service (USSS) agents hustled Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other senior administration officials from the Washington Hilton hotel’s ballroom after the shots were fired during the annual event. Trump told reporters the suspect was stopped by USSS personnel.
“To see a man charge at a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons— and he was taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service, and they acted very quickly,” Trump stated at the impromptu press conference, referring to the suspect being held in custody. The president was joined by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel, adding that he’d ordered the incident’s video and photos to be released. He also praised law enforcement effusively during a seven-minute opening statement.
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The suspect was charged with a federal firearms violation and with assaulting a federal law enforcement agent, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro told reporters in a separate press conference at the Washington Hilton. The hotel, a major event space of the capital city, was notably where President Ronald Reagan was shot in a March 30, 1981 assassination attempt.
“Everyone owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to the courage of law enforcement and working with the D.C. police and … just spoke with the mayor. When we are finished, the police chief is going to take over and discuss it also from their viewpoint,” Trump told reporters, many of whom were still dressed for the event. “They also performed exactly as they were supposed to and you see the attacker in different positions. You also see the attacker totally subdued and under control.”
Trump had been inclined to continue and deliver remarks at the event, the first he had attended while in office, but departed for the White House at the urging of the USSS.
“We’re going to reschedule. We’re going to do it again. We’re not going to let anybody take over our society,” Trump said. “We’re not going to cancel things out because we can’t do that. We wanted to stay tonight. I will tell you, I fought like hell to stay, but it was protocol.”
One USSS agent was shot, but is expected to be okay, Fox News reported.
Trump survived two attempts on his life during the 2024 presidential campaign: one during a rally in Butler, Pa.; the other while Trump was playing a round of golf in West Palm Beach, Fla.
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