After the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, former President Donald Trump admitted he might have made the evacuation process for the Secret Service more complicated. Discussing the incident during a “60 Minutes” interview with CBS News correspondent Norah O’Donnell, he reflected on his thoughts during the evacuation that followed a shooting.
O’Donnell mentioned that it took roughly ten seconds for agents to reach Trump and another twenty seconds for him to be led out of the venue. Trump indicated that part of his delay stemmed from a natural curiosity about what was happening around him.
“Well, what happened was, it kind of happened to me,” Trump shared. He expressed that he wanted to understand the unfolding situation but may have inadvertently slowed down the response by not acting quickly enough. He recalled feeling there was something definitely off as he heard unusual sounds instead of the usual banquet noise. At that moment, he also felt reassured by the presence of his team.
Eventually, he and First Lady Melania Trump were directed to leave the room, and he described how they began to crawl out as they were told to drop to the ground. “I stood up, turned in the opposite direction, and started walking quite tall,” he recounted. “But I ended up on the floor after they insisted I get down.”
In a hurried press conference shortly after the incident, Trump noted that the suspect was in custody and suggested that the White House Correspondents’ Association reschedule the dinner within the next month. The suspect, identified as Cole Allen, a 31-year-old computer scientist from Torrance, California, was reportedly carrying multiple weapons when he approached the Secret Service checkpoint. He allegedly fired at a Secret Service agent, who sustained injuries but was later released from the hospital.
Authorities at the news conference revealed that the attack seemed targeted at officials associated with the Trump administration. The details surrounding security at such events continue to raise questions about safety protocols. Trump emphasized the importance of ensuring a secure setting at the White House’s banquet hall, observing that it can be quite challenging to safeguard hotel venues.
