In an interview airing on “60 Minutes,” President Trump described the moment he was rushed out of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner after a gunman charged a security checkpoint. Mr. Trump said he “wasn’t making it that easy” for the Secret Service to escort him from the Washington Hilton Hotel because he “wanted to see what was going on.”
“I wanted to see what was happening, and I wasn’t making it that easy for them,” he said.
He told CBS News correspondent Norah O’Donnell that he “was surrounded by great people” but asked them to “wait a minute” so he could assess what was happening.
Saturday marked Mr. Trump’s first time attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner as president – he has historically declined the invitation. O’Donnell was also at the annual gala, which celebrates the First Amendment.
Secret Service agents quickly escorted Mr. Trump and other administration officials from the ballroom Saturday after shots rang out. Authorities say 31-year-old Cole Allen charged a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton Hotel, armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and knives, before being apprehended by police. A Secret Service agent was shot but was wearing a bulletproof vest and has been released from the hospital.
Sources told CBS News that Allen had written a “manifesto” and sent it to members of his family, one of whom contacted police. In excerpts reviewed by CBS News, Allen wrote that he planned to target administration officials, “prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” and authorities “only if necessary.” He said law enforcement, hotel employees, and guests weren’t his intended targets but that he would still attack them to get to the administration, adding: “I really hope it doesn’t come to that.”
In a news conference Saturday night, Mr. Trump praised law enforcement and said the suspect “hadn’t come anywhere close to breaching the doors of the room.” Asked if he was concerned about the threats to his life, Mr. Trump said, “It’s a dangerous profession.” Mr. Trump said he “fought like hell” to resume the event after the shooting but said law enforcement insisted otherwise. He said he wanted the dinner to be rescheduled within the next 30 days.
Watch the interview Sunday night at 7p ET/PT on CBS and Paramount+.
