Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered a new account of President Donald Trump's response in the moments after gunfire erupted at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in April, saying the president was determined to return to the ballroom despite having just been rushed offstage by the Secret Service.
In an interview on «Hang Out with Sean Hannity,» Leavitt described Trump as a «caged lion» backstage, roaring to get back in front of the crowd. «He was like a caged lion backstage, like just roaring to get out, like, 'We gotta go back out there,'» she said. «And I'm sitting there like, 'I don't know if I want to go back out there.'»
The incident unfolded minutes after the dinner began at the Washington Hilton, when a gunman later identified as Cole Allen of Torrance, Calif., allegedly stormed the hotel armed with weapons. Trump and Vice President JD Vance were quickly escorted out of the ballroom by Secret Service members. Allen was apprehended by agents. According to a manifesto attributed to him, his targets were Trump administration officials, with the exception of FBI Director Kash Patel.
Guests dived under tables as the gala, meant to celebrate White House correspondents, descended into chaos. Yet Leavitt said the president was eager to return to the ballroom and willing to wait hours for the event to resume. She recalled Trump pressing his security detail with hard questions. «[Trump] really was asking hard questions of his detail, like, 'Why can't I go? I will wait all night. I don't care if it's 3 in the morning, get it started,'» Leavitt said.
The former White House spokeswoman said officials even began making preparations to resume the dinner. She also described Trump's impatience to make a public statement immediately after the incident. «[Trump] wanted to say something and the best way to say it was in the briefing room. And we did,» Leavitt said. Trump held a news conference at the White House later that night alongside top administration members, recounting how the shooting unfolded.
After the shooting, the president reignited calls to build a ballroom at the White House to create a space for safe and secure official events. Trump attended the rescheduled WHCA Dinner in July. Leavitt's full interview on the latest «Hang Out with Sean Hannity» will be available Tuesday on YouTube, Spotify and Apple.