Trump Explains Delay Leaving Ballroom, Says He Wanted To Personally Assess Scene
Airfind news item
By Drew Berkemeyer
Published on April 27, 2026.
President Donald Trump has responded to "60 Minutes" interview with Norah O'Donnell following the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting, where a gunman, identified as Cole Tomas Allen, stormed a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton and opened fire outside the ballroom where the event was taking place. The incident forced Secret Service agents to evacuate Trump, the First Lady, and hundreds of high-profile attendees. During the interview, Trump described the suspect as radicalized and stated that Allen had shifted from being a Christian believer to embracing anti-Christian views. He also highlighted warning signs from the suspect’s family, which he believes had raised concerns about his behavior prior to the attack. The president defended the Secret Service response, emphasizing the speed with which agents neutralized the threat and his personal assessment of the situation. The interview also turned confrontational when O’Donnell mentioned inflammatory claims from the suspected shooter’re writings.
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