Oz Pearlman, a mentalist who was headlining the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, was performing a trick, trying to guess the name of the baby Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is expecting, when loud popping noises rang out.
President Donald Trump was on the main stage along with First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Secret Service agents immediately sprinted down the main aisle and others emerged to hustle the president out of the room, as other dinner guests ducked under tables.
At first, many of the dignitaries seemed unaware of the threat outside the ballroom, until security guards started yelling, “Get down!” and “Lie on the ground!”
Trump, along with other people on the main dais, crouched under the table on the stage until he was evacuated.
Speaking to reporters later, Trump said, “I heard a noise and sort of thought it was a tray, a tray going down.”
Other agents, clad in body armor and toting long guns, ran in from the edges of the room, climbing over chairs to pull out cabinet officials and other VIPs.
Agents whisked out Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio calmly left the scene.
As a sense of panic spread among the festive guests, a member of Trump’s security told them that the assailant had never made it into the ballroom — and that Trump was saying he’d like to return to the event once the situation was resolved.
Someone yelled out, “USA!” but the chant fizzled out quickly.
After the VIPs were hustled out, the giant hall suddenly calmed down, but attendees were mostly left in the dark about what was happening.
Erika Kirk, whose husband Charlie Kirk was assassinated last September, was among those in the audience who initially took shelter along with other attendees.
The massive basement ballroom of the Washington Hilton is a famously bad zone for cell signals, leaving reporters and administration officials to wonder whether Vance and Trump were OK. One administration official showed a video of Trump being hustled off.
It was unclear for at least 30 minutes whether the dinner would resume and if Trump would deliver his speech. The presence of the White House seal on the podium buoyed some guests that Trump would return, and the president was indeed pushing for it to continue.
Almost an hour after Trump was rushed out, he posted on social media that he would return to the White House to hold a news conference.
“I have spoken with all the representatives in charge of the event, and we will be rescheduling within 30 days,” he posted.
As guests were directed to the escalators, law enforcement agents were seen embracing emotionally in the hallway.
With assistance from Jordan Fabian, Michelle Jamrisko and Justin Sink.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
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