WASHINGTON D.C (VINnews) — President Trump described being rushed from the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner by Secret Service agents after a gunman charged a security checkpoint, in an interview aired Sunday on CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
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Norah O’Donnell sat down with Trump at the White House one day after the Saturday night incident at the Washington Hilton, where the president and first lady Melania Trump were attending the annual event.
Trump told O’Donnell he “wasn’t worried” during the chaos and wanted to assess the situation himself as agents moved him out. “I’ve been through this before, a couple of times,” he said, referring to prior assassination attempts. He added that he asked agents to “wait a minute” while surrounded by security.
The incident unfolded around 8:36 p.m. EDT Saturday when 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, rushed a Secret Service checkpoint outside the ballroom. Armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives, Allen exchanged gunfire with agents, wounding one who was protected by a bulletproof vest and later released from the hospital. Allen was apprehended at the scene and is in custody.
Authorities described Allen as a lone actor who left behind writings, including what officials called a manifesto sent to family members, in which he expressed intent to target Trump administration officials. In the interview, O’Donnell read from the document, which referred to a “pedophile, rapist and traitor.” Trump reacted sharply, denying the accusations and calling the question “disgraceful.”
“I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would, because you’re horrible people,” Trump said. “I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody. I’m not a pedophile.”
No guests at the black-tie dinner were injured. Trump and other administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, were safely evacuated. The dinner, which celebrates the First Amendment and press freedom, was disrupted but Trump later vowed to hold a similar event in the coming months.
Allen, a mechanical engineering graduate from Caltech who worked as a tutor and had computer science training, had no immediate public ties to the event beyond the apparent political motivations outlined in his writings, according to law enforcement.
The Secret Service and federal authorities are continuing their investigation. Trump has faced two prior assassination attempts during his political career.
Look at what Trump is dealing with: a major network reading a manifesto from a deranged individual as if it holds credibility. And he’s expected to respond to it? The left is a bunch of loonies
President is 100% correct she’s a horrible human being reading that and then acting surprise as if the maniac was not accusing the president of all this horrible things.