WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was uninjured and other top leaders of the United States were evacuated from an annual dinner of White House correspondents on Saturday night after an unspecified threat. There did not immediately appear to be any injuries, and one law-enforcement official said a shooter had opened fire.
Authorities said the incident occurred outside the ballroom where Trump and other guests were seated. The event was scrapped and will be rescheduled.
“We will do this again,” said Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Crrespondents' Association. Shortly afterward, staff began breaking down table settings and the presidential lectern.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the banquet hall at the Washington Hilton as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Audible gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realized something was happening. Hundreds of journalists got on phones to call in information.
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as Trump was escorted off stage. He fell briefly — he apparently tripped — and was helped up by Secret Service agents.
A law enforcement official confirmed there was a shooter. A law enforcement officer was shot in the bullet-resistant vest but is expected to be OK, one law-enforcement officer told The Associated Press.
Some in the crowd reported hearing what they believed to be five to eight shots fired. The banquet hall — where hundreds of prominent journalists, celebrities and national leaders were awaiting Trump’s remarks — was immediately evacuated. Members of the National Guard took up position inside the building as people were allowed to leave but not immediately re-enter. Security outside was also extremely tight.
Those in attendance included Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and many other leaders of the Trump administration.
Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.
Generally, the Hilton hotel, where the dinner has taken place for years, remains open to regular guests during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and security has typically been focused on the ballroom and rather than the hotel at large, with little screening for people not entering the dinner itself. In past years, that has created openings for disruptions in the lobby and other public spaces, including protests in which security moved to remove guests who unfurled banners or staged demonstrations.
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U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro posted a short video from the hotel after the incident, saying: “I have been taken out of the ballroom after the sound of the shots fired. The Secret Service is now in charge of this building, this hotel. I just spoke to Mayor Murial Bowser. She is on her way and (Police) Chief Jeffery Carroll is on his way. He will be in charge as soon as he gets here.”
Event was about to take place
Trump’s attendance at Saturday’s annual dinner in Washington for his first time as president is putting his administration’s often-contentious relationship with the press on full public display.
Trump arrived to an event where the leaders of a nation at war mingled with celebrities, journalists and even a puppet — Triumph the Insult Comic Dog — in a dinner that typically generates debate about whether the relationship between journalists and their sources should include socializing together and putting aside sometimes adversarial relationships.
Trump was being watched closely at the event held by the organization of reporters who cover him and his administration. Past presidents who have attended have generally spoken about the importance of free speech and the First Amendment, adding in some light roasts about individual journalists.
The Republican president did not attend during his first term or the first year of his second. He came as a guest in 2011, sitting in the audience as President Barack Obama, a Democrat, made some jokes about the New York real estate developer. Trump also attended as a private citizen in 2015.
Trump entered the subterranean banquet hall of the Washington Hilton to the strains of “Hail to the Chief” and greeted prominent journalists on the dais, also pausing to laud White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt with a cheerful pointing of his finger.
Past dinners have also featured comedians who poke at presidents. This year, the group opted to hire mentalist Oz Pearlman as the featured entertainment.
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AP journalists Michael Balsamo, Zeke Miller and Anna Johnson contributed to this report. David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.
(1) comment
This should be a fun one. I’m looking forward to Trump’s speech. I wonder if Polymarket is taking bets on which correspondents or mainstream media Trump will berate/mention. I’m betting the fake news media who won Pulitzer’s for their Russian Collusion Delusion reporting based on lies.
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