‘I Fought Like Hell To Stay’: Trump Addresses Assassination Attempt At White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner

President Donald Trump spoke to reporters Saturday evening at the White House after being evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner following multiple gunshots.

U.S. Secret Service (USSS) agents shoved Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other senior administration officials from the ballroom of Washington’s Hilton Hotel after shots were fired at the annual event. Trump told reporters the suspect was arrested by USSS personnel.

“To see a man charging through a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons — and he was stopped by very courageous members of the Secret Service, and they acted very quickly,” Trump said during the impromptu news conference, referring to the detained suspect. The president was joined by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel, adding that he had ordered the release of video and photos of the incident. He also praised law enforcement effusively during a seven-minute opening statement.

WATCH:

The suspect was charged with federal firearms violations and assault on a federal law enforcement officer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro told reporters at a separate news conference at the Washington Hilton. This hotel, a major event venue in the capital, was notably the place where President Ronald Reagan was shot dead during an assassination attempt on March 30, 1981.

“Everyone owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to the courage of law enforcement and the work with the Washington, D.C. police and…I just spoke with the mayor. When we’re done, the police chief will take over and discuss this from his perspective as well,” Trump told reporters, many of whom were still dressed for the event. “They also played exactly how they were supposed to and you see the striker in different positions. You also see the striker totally contained and under control.”

Trump had been inclined to go ahead and give a speech at the event, the first he had attended while in office, but left for the White House at the request of the USSS.

“We’re going to reschedule. We’re going to start over. We’re not going to let anyone take over our society,” Trump said. “We’re not going to cancel things because we can’t do this. We wanted to stay tonight. I’ll tell you, I fought like hell to stay, but that was protocol.”

A USSS agent was shot, but is expected to be OK, Fox News reported.

Trump survived two assassination attempts during the 2024 presidential campaign: one at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania; the other while Trump played a round of golf in West Palm Beach, Florida.

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