WHCA president delivers remarks after shots fired at dinner event
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White House Correspondents’ Association President Weijia Jiang announced Saturday that the White House Correspondents’ Dinner will be canceled and rescheduled following the shooting in the incident that led to President Donald Trump’s evacuation.
“Law enforcement officers requested that we leave the building in accordance with protocol. [President Donald Trump] I wanted to emphasize that no one was harmed. He and the First Lady’s Cabinet, everyone is safe,” Jiang said.
The crowd applauded the news of the Cabinet’s security when Jiang confirmed that Trump would hold a press briefing at the White House after the night’s events, despite wanting to continue with the dinner.
TRUMP and First Lady Evacuated from Reporters’ Dinner After Gunshots Heard
In this screenshot from the video, US President Donald Trump is escorted during the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner held in Washington, DC, USA on April 25, 2026. (Bo Erickson /Reuters)
“This is not a joke,” Jiang said as the crowd laughed. “And he insists that we reschedule this event in the next 30 days, and he wants to do it tonight. He wanted to go ahead despite the news, but he needs to follow safety protocol.”
He continued, “I said tonight that journalism is a public service, because when there’s an emergency, we run toward the crisis rather than away from it. And on a night when we think about First Amendment freedoms, we should also think about how fragile they are. I’ve seen you all reporting, and so do we. Thank God everyone is safe. And thank you for coming together tonight. We’ll do this again. Thank you.”
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Jiang’s comments came after a while Real Social post About the press conference from Trump.
CBS correspondent and White House Correspondents Association President Weijia Jiang made a statement shortly after the shooting at the WHCD event. (Fox News)
Trump wrote: “Law enforcement has requested that we leave the building immediately in accordance with protocol, which we will do immediately. I will be holding a press conference in the White House Press Briefing Room in 30 minutes. The First Lady, the Vice President and all members of the Cabinet are in excellent condition. We will speak with you in half an hour. I have spoken with all representatives responsible for the event and we will reschedule within 30 days.”
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Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and the rest of the president’s cabinet were removed from the meeting table after reports of gunshots heard at the Washington Hilton. The location of the Washington Hilton was also the location of the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Trump announced last month: accepted the invitation to join He explained that the country’s 250th anniversary was influential in his decision at this year’s dinner.
President Donald Trump attended the political press’ annual gala for the first time while in office. (Mandel NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
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Trump’s participation was for the first time present at the event as During both terms, President Trump had previously attended a dinner as a private citizen in 2011, where he was toasted by then-President Barack Obama.
Trump faces two assassination attempts in 2024; One of these was the gunman’s bullet grazing his ear in Pennsylvania.
