US President Donald Trump walked into the White House briefing room at 10:31 p.m. on Saturday after gunfire broke out at the Washington Hilton where he had been attending the White House correspondents’ dinner.
“Well, thank you very much,” he said. “That was very unexpected!”
Trump posts surveillance footage of suspect
Before addressing reporters, Trump posted surveillance footage showing a suspect running through the halls of the hotel. The Washington Hilton is located a mile and a half from the White House. Few details were available about the incident at the time of the briefing.
He was joined at the podium by First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the acting attorney general, the FBI director and the press secretary, all still in their evening attire.
‘That’s a bad noise’: Melania Trump’s reaction
Trump said he initially mistook the sound for something falling. “I thought it was a tray going down,” he said. “I’ve heard that many times, and it was a pretty loud noise, and it was from quite far away.”
He said Melania Trump recognised what had happened immediately. “Melania was very cognizant, I think, of what happened. I think she knew immediately what happened. She was saying, ‘That’s a bad noise.’” The First Lady stood behind him throughout the briefing and, when asked if she would like to say anything, replied with a single word: “No.” Trump described the event as “a rather traumatic experience for her.”
Trump said he was removed from the venue within seconds. “There wasn’t a whole lot of time to be thinking, because it was a matter of seconds before we were out the door,” he said. He thanked law enforcement for their response.
The incident marks what would be the third possible attempt on Trump’s life, following two previous assassination attempts. He downplayed any suggestion it would change his behaviour.
“I like not to think about it,” he said. “I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it’s a dangerous life.” He added: “To be honest with you, I’m not a basket case.”
Trump uses incident to push for White House ballroom
Trump used the briefing to argue for the construction of a secure ballroom at the White House, a project that has faced legal challenges.
“I didn’t want to say this, but this is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House. It’s actually a larger room, and it’s a much more secure. It’s got — it’s drone proof, it’s bulletproof glass.”
In a departure from his typical stance toward the press, Trump praised the reporters present and complimented their coverage. He gave the first question to CBS News correspondent Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, who had been seated next to him at the dinner.
“Madam chairman, I just want to say you did a fantastic job. What a beautiful evening,” he said.
He told reporters: “You’ve been very responsible in your coverage. I will say I’ve been seeing what’s been out. You’ve been very responsible.”
Correspondents’ dinner to be rescheduled
Trump said he had planned to deliver what he called the “most inappropriate speech ever made” at the dinner and appeared disappointed at missing the opportunity. He said the event would be rescheduled within 30 days.
However, he suggested the tone would change. “I don’t know if I can ever be as rough as I was going to be tonight,” he said. “I think I’m going to be probably very nice. I’ll be very boring the next time, but we’re going to have a great event.”
No details about the suspect’s motivations were disclosed at the briefing.
