Trump walked out amid chaos at an event with survivors of political violence
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When gunfire erupted at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner on Saturday night, a commotion broke out at the ballpark that included a number of people who have been living with political violence.
President Donald Trump was rushed to the ballroom of the Washington Hilton Hotel on Saturday evening, as the dinner began in earnest, after gunshots were heard. Video from inside the event showed attendees hiding under tables as panic spread across the room.
The moment carried extra weight for attendees whose lives had already been shaped by political violence, including Trump, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and TPUSA CEO Erika Kirk.
“The people who make the biggest impact, they’re not like that [shooters] follow,” Trump said Saturday evening at a press conference at the White House. “Their fans don’t do much because they like it that way.”
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Former president Donald Trump raises his bloodied arm to his face during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. Trump was escorted off the stage after loud boos were heard as he began to speak. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images)
Trump, himself, has faced repeated threats to his life.
There have been two assassination attempts on Trump in 2024, beginning in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed his ear after a gunman climbed onto the roof during a rally on July 13, 2024.
“Butler had one weak spot that we all know. Someone should be up there, but even with Butler, we have our sniper by our side. Within 4.2 seconds, from a distance of 400 yards, one shot, and he was gone,” said Trump.
The second incident occurred a few weeks later, at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where a suspect was found with a gun near the golf course while Trump was present. Trump was not injured in the incident.
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Others in this room are also built on political violence, which brings added weight to the moment.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were escorted off the ballpark at the Washington Hilton Saturday night at the start of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner as gunshots rang out. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nephew of President John F. Kennedy (JFK), was quickly removed from the room on Saturday, an HHS official told Fox News Digital. His family history is closely related to two tragic murders.
JFK was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963, while riding in an open-top motorcade in Dallas, Texas, during a re-election campaign event.
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Five years later, the secretary’s father, then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, was shot after he gave a victory speech when he won the California Democratic presidential nomination.
He was hit three times, including a fatal gunshot to the head.
Similarly, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise was among four people shot on June 14, 2017, at a Congressional baseball practice. gunner, a supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vt., was shot and killed by police.
Scalise was shot in the hip, leaving him critically injured. He eventually recovered and returned to Congress months later.
“I am so thankful for the brave members of law enforcement who took immediate action to protect all of us who attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. This is an event meant to bring people together. Violence has NO place in our country,” Scalise wrote to X.
Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk was reportedly seen crying backstage after leaving the arena following the shooting. Kirk also faced tragedy when her husband was killed in September 2025 while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University.
(Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Kennedy and Scalise for comment.
Trump praised law enforcement during a press conference at the White House late Saturday, saying the situation was “done incredibly well by the Secret Service and law enforcement.”
“[The suspect] there was still a long way to go. That was the first line of defense. Then they found him. And actually, you know, they did amazing,” he continued.
The suspected gunman, identified as Cole Allen, 31, of California, was arrested.
