In a CBS ’60 Minutes’ interview, President Donald Trump described the chaotic evacuation after shots were fired at the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. The gunman opened fire one floor above the basement ballroom, and Secret Service agents hurried the president off the stage.
Trump said he was not immediately alarmed — “I wasn’t worried. I understand life. We live in a crazy world” — and acknowledged that his curiosity about what was happening likely slowed agents trying to move him to safety. He recalled resisting a rapid exit, telling agents to “wait a minute,” and being repeatedly instructed to go down on the floor as they left; both he and the first lady complied.
The interview turned tense when the program raised passages from a manifesto the suspect had shared with family that referenced the president. Trump said he had read the document, called the author a “sick person,” and rejected the allegations it contained. He criticized the decision to air the material, called those who read it on television “horrible people,” and denied being a rapist or a pedophile, saying he had been “totally exonerated” of related accusations.
Trump urged the White House Correspondents’ Association not to cancel the dinner and asked that the event be rescheduled within 30 days, arguing that cancelling would let “a crazy person” achieve their aim. He added that attending was not about his desire to go — he said he is very busy and does not need the event — but that he did not want violence to force its cancellation.
