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President Donald Trump gave rare praise to the press in the aftermath of shots fired at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday night that led to the evening’s rescheduling.
“This was an event dedicated to freedom of speech that was supposed to bring together members of both parties with members of the press, and in a certain way it did, because the fact that they just unified,” Trump said at a White House press briefing. “I saw a room that was just totally unified. It was, in one way, very beautiful, a very beautiful thing to see.”
Trump’s comments came after he confirmed that the dinner would be canceled in accordance with security protocol despite how he “fought like hell” to have it continue. He reiterated his intention to have the event rescheduled within the next month.
An assailant rushed security at the Washington Hilton Saturday night, shooting a Secret Service officer, who was hit in his bulletproof vest and survived. The suspect was apprehended and has been charged with multiple felonies. The gunfire led to Trump and the Cabinet at the dinner being evacuated, and the dinner will be rescheduled.
WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES EVENT BEING RESCHEDULED AFTER SHOOTING
Adding to the strangeness of the scene at the White House, Trump and many of the White House figures and reporters in the room were still wearing tuxedos and dresses after coming from the black tie dinner.
“I think it’s very important that I say, though, and I told the representatives of the evening they did such a beautiful job. It was such a beautiful evening. And again, they’re talking about free speech in our Constitution. That’s what it’s all about, not just White House correspondents. It was really based on free speech in our Constitution. But I said very importantly that we’ll do it again within the next 30 days. And we’ll make it bigger and better and even nicer. So I just want to thank everybody that was involved. I also want to thank the press, the media. You’ve been very responsible in your coverage. I will say I’ve been seeing what’s been out, and you’ve been very responsible,” Trump said.
Trump also took questions from members of the press. The first was from White House Correspondents’ Association president Weijia Jiang, where he took the opportunity to compliment the CBS correspondent for the evening.
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“I just want to say you did a fantastic job. What a beautiful evening. And we’re going to reschedule. And after that, it’s very tough for her to ask a killer question, but you have done a fantastic job,” Trump said.
Jiang asked Trump his thoughts in the moment as the chaos unfolded, given his experience with assassination attempts. Trump said it was always a shocking event, no matter when it happened.
Trump also shared an image of the suspect being arrested from his Truth Social account.
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Trump, first lady Melania Trump and the rest of the president’s Cabinet were rushed from the head table after shots rang out. The site of the Washington Hilton was also the location of the assassination attempt against President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Trump announced last month that he accepted the invitation to attend this year’s dinner, explaining that the country’s 250th anniversary influenced his decision.
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Trump’s attendance marked the first time he had been present at the event as president in either term. Trump previously attended the dinner as a private citizen in 2011, when he was famously roasted by then-President Barack Obama.
Trump faced two assassination attempts in 2024, including one in Pennsylvania when an assailant’s bullet grazed his ear.
Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
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