- The dinner guests scrambled under the tables in panic.
- Tactical security teams with weapons in hand took positions on the stage.
- Trump was evacuated as police and the Secret Service swarmed the hotel.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner by Secret Service agents Saturday night after loud bangs were heard.
Other Trump administration officials who attended the dinner were also evacuated after loud commotion and noise near the ballroom of the hotel where the dinner was being held.
The dinner attendees immediately stopped talking and people began shouting, “Drop down, duck down!”
Hundreds of guests hid under tables as Secret Service officers, in combat gear, ran into the dining room. Trump and the first lady had leaned behind the podium before being shoved out by Secret Service agents.
Many of the 2,600 attendees took cover as waiters fled to the front of the dining room.
Shortly before being escorted off stage by security, Melania Trump appeared to react to something in the crowd and had a worried look on her face, according to a CSPAN livestream.
Previously, Russian media had claimed that a shooter was killed at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner by the president’s security team after allegedly opening fire, saying several rounds were fired before the suspect was neutralized.
However, President Trump, in a Truth Social post, said law enforcement agencies acted quickly during an incident in Washington, praising their response and confirming that a suspect had been detained.
“All night in DC, the Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted quickly and bravely,” he said in a social media post.
“The shooter has been arrested and I have recommended that ‘LET THE SHOW GO ON’, but everything will be guided by law enforcement. They will make a decision shortly,” he added.
He said the final decision on how to proceed with the event would be left to the authorities, adding that the evening “would be very different from what was planned” and may need to be rescheduled.
In another Truth Social post, Trump said law enforcement had ordered an immediate evacuation following a security incident in Washington, adding that top officials were safe and the event would be rescheduled.
“The authorities have requested that we leave the premises, in accordance with protocol, which we will do immediately,” he said in a social media post.
“In 30 minutes I will give a press conference from the White House Press Room. The First Lady, plus the Vice President and all members of the Cabinet, are in perfect condition. We will be speaking with you in half an hour,” he added.
He said he had spoken with the officials in charge of the event and that it would be rescheduled within 30 days.
According to eyewitnesses, police invaded the Washington Hilton hotel where the event was taking place and helicopters flew overhead.
CNN and other US media reported that Trump was unharmed.
The group’s report said a suspected shooter was in custody, citing the Secret Service, but the report was not officially confirmed.
Unconfirmed reports suggested that one person was injured, although details about the cause of the injury were not available.
The incident erupted after the welcome speech and during dinner, before Trump spoke.
Trump administration officials appeared to have been evacuated first and uncertainty remained over what exactly happened.
A cabinet official, Mehmet Oz, said “shots were fired upstairs” as security officers ran him away.
Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024. A gunman fired several shots, killing a rally attendee and slightly wounding the president in the ear.
A few months later, another man was arrested after a Secret Service agent saw the barrel of a rifle poking out of the bushes on the perimeter of the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing a round.
The Washington Hilton, where Saturday’s gala took place, was the site where Republican President Ronald Reagan was shot to death in 1981.
Organizers told guests that the White House Correspondents’ Dinner would go ahead despite the incident.
Trump was attending the event for the first time while in office.
The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) invited Trump this year despite his repeated attacks on the media. The move sparked negative reactions in newsrooms, with hundreds of journalists signing an open letter asking attendees to denounce Trump’s press restrictions.
Unlike every other president of the past 100 years, Trump never attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner while in office…until now.
The “Nerd Prom,” as attendees call it, brings together hundreds of Washington journalists and media executives to raise funds for scholarships and awards.
In the Butler shooting, Trump suffered a scratch to his right ear when a 20-year-old gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop while the Republican presidential candidate was holding a campaign rally in Butler on July 13.
One member of the public was killed and the gunman, Thomas Crooks, was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper.
