President Donald Trump has said he is “honored” to be a target following the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting.
“When you look at our great presidents, [this] doesn’t happen to people who don’t do anything,” Trump, 79, told reporters at the White House on Saturday, April 25.
Multiple media outlets reported that a 30-year-old man from California was “apprehended” during the shooting. The Secret Service told the media that the suspect’s condition is “unknown,” as are his motives. (He has been charged with two counts of using a firearm and one count of assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.)
“The man has been captured and they’re going to his apartment. I guess he lives in California and he’s a very sick person, a very sick person,” Trump said during his news conference.
Trump also addressed the moment-by-moment process of being rushed from the ballroom to a secure location at the Washington Hilton once shots were fired.
“I was totally shocked when something like this happens,” he said. “It happened to me a little bit, and that never changes. The fact, we were sitting right next to each other, first lady [Melania Trump] on my right, and I heard a noise … I thought it was a tray going down and it was a pretty loud noise and it was from quite far away. [The suspect] hadn’t reached the area at all. He really got him … but it was a gun.”
The president went on, “Some people really understood that very quickly, other people didn’t … I was watching what happened. Melania was very cognizant of what happened, I think she knew immediately what happened. She was saying, ‘That’s a bad noise.’ And we were whisked away. It was very quick .. it was a matter of seconds that we were out the door.”
Donald, first lady Melania and various members of the cabinet were evacuated from the Washington Hilton hotel on Saturday amid the emergency. A Secret Service spokesperson confirmed that the incident occurred at the “main magnetometer” at the Washington Hilton. No one in the Trump administration or among the press assembled was harmed during the incident.
A Secret Service agent was shot but Trump said he’d been “saved” due to his protective gear. The agent was taken to the hospital for treatment.
“The vest did its job. I just spoke to the officer and he’s doing great,” Trump announced at Saturday’s press conference.
Earlier in the evening, Donald confirmed via Truth Social that he, Melania and other cabinet members — including pregnant White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt— were all safe after being evacuated. The president suggested initially that he wanted the evening to continue.
“Quite an evening in D.C. Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted quickly and bravely,” he wrote. “The shooter has been apprehended, and I have recommended that we ‘LET THE SHOW GO ON’ but, will entirely be guided by Law Enforcement. They will make a decision shortly. Regardless of that decision, the evening will be much different than planned, and we’ll just, plain, have to do it again.”
Following the shooting, journalist and White House Correspondents’ President Weijia Jiang told those in attendance that the event would not continue. Instead, it would be rescheduled sometime in the next 30 days at the alleged behest of the president.
“Law enforcement has requested that we leave the premises. … [The president] wanted to emphasize that nobody was hurt. The cabinet and the first lady, everybody’s safe,” she explained. “I said earlier tonight that journalism is a public service because when there is an emergency we run toward the crisis, not away from it.”
Jiang went on, “I saw all of you reporting and that’s what we do. Thank God everybody is safe and thank you for coming together tonight.”
Erika Kirk — the Turning Point USA CEO whose husband, Charlie Kirk, was fatally shot last September — was in attendance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Per CNN, Erika was seen crying in the aftermath of the shooting and told aides, “I just want to leave.”
