The reactions to the shocking shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner are coming in, but I don’t think you’ll see too many like the one coming from UFC boss Dana White.
White is, of course, a close friend of the president and was invited to the event.
In fact, he was even interviewed on the red carpet and talked about the upcoming UFC Freedom 250 that will take place at the White House on June 14.
UFC President and CEO Dana White reacts during a bantamweight fight between Adrian Luna Martinetti of Ecuador and Mark Vologdin of Russia at Dana White’s Contender Series season nine, week nine at UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nev., on Oct. 7, 2025. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
But the night took a turn when a gunman stormed a security checkpoint and shot a Secret Service agent, who is, thankfully, expected to be okay.
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Fortunately, there have been no reports of attendees being hurt, and President Trump, the first lady, Vice President JD Vance, and other Trump administration officials were taken out of the room while guests hid under tables.
Obviously, the ballroom where the dinner was taking place was filled with more than 2,000 people who were understandably very shaken by what had happened.
However, Dana White was not one of those rattled by it.
As guests were filing out of the Washington Hilton ballroom and the surrounding area, White took a second to talk to some reporters on his way out about what he experienced.
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“It started getting noisy, tables started flipping over, guys running in with guns, and they were screaming ‘Get down,'” White said. “I didn’t get down. It was f–king awesome. I literally took every minute of it in, and it was a pretty crazy, unique experience.”
U.S. Marshalls walk through the lobby of the Washington Hilton after shots were heard during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C., on April 25, 2026. Tactical teams took positions on the stage where President Donald Trump had been seated before he was evacuated. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images)
White said he was sitting right in front of the head table, where the president, vice president and first lady, press secretary Karoline Leavitt, White House Correspondents’ Association members and others were seated.
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“Guys came in looking for shooters,” he continued. “They came toward our table. I thought the shooter was over by us or something.”
I don’t think too many people would react to a situation of this magnitude the way Dana White did, but he’s certainly built differently.
