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'Oh my word': Trump astounds with claim WHCD shooting shows the need for his ballroom

President Donald Trump said that the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner proves why the country needs his ballroom in the White House, prompting scorn.

"Jesus Christ. He is using this as an excuse to hype his ballroom?" Democratic strategist Chris D. Jackson wrote on X. "I just can't."

A shooter stormed a security checkpoint outside the ballroom hosting the dinner, forcing Trump and his party to evacuate the head table. During a press conference after the attack, Trump explained to reporters that the Washington Hilton would have been safer if it had a ballroom like the one he's installing at the White House.

"It's not a particularly secure building," Trump said. "I didn't want to say this, but this is why we have to have all the attributes of what we're planning at the White House. It's drone-proof. It's bulletproof. We need the ballroom. That's why the Secret Service, why the military, they're demanding it."

"Trump is using this to advocate for the ballroom right now," pundit Kyle Kulinski reacted. "Oh my word."

Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance wrote on X, "Trump, commenting on the incident at the Correspondents' Dinner today, says this demonstrates why the Ballroom he is building at the WH is needed."

Secret Service agent hospitalized after being shot in protective vest at WHCD: report

A law enforcement agent was reportedly hospitalized after being shot by a gunman who stormed the entrance to the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night.

CNN's John Berman reported that the shooter injured a law enforcement agent. Fox News host Sean Hannity also reported that a Secret Service agent was shot while the shooter stormed the entrance.

The shooter has since reportedly been identified as a 30-year-old man from Los Angeles, according to CNN law enforcement analyst John Miller. Law enforcement said they have him in custody.

Sean Hannity recounts how WHCD shooter 'charged' security checkpoint

The shooter who attacked the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday charged a security checkpoint set up near the entrance of the main ballroom, a conservative pundit recounted.

"The shooter charged the magnetometer closest to the front door," conservative pundit Sean Hannity told Fox News shortly after the chaos, which cut the dinner short and led to the evacuation of everyone at the head table, including Trump.

"How did he get up to that point?" Hannity asked. "What we can tell you, was that this was multiple shots at the closest magnetometer closest to the door."

"Everyone is okay," Hannity added. The shooter was in custody, despite earlier reports that he had been killed at the scene.


'Difficult to fathom': CNN anchor in disbelief that WHCD was set to resume after gunfire

The White House Correspondents' Dinner was initially set to resume after gunfire forced Trump and his party to evacuate, leaving a CNN anchor taken aback.

CNN reporter Brianna Keilar called it "difficult to fathom" that the event would carry on "because I just can't describe even the scene and just how scared everyone had been."

C-SPAN reported that President Donald Trump was initially expected to return to the dinner. Keilar said it seemed like the dinner would restart "momentarily" even though there was "a lot of commotion here right now."

However, the president later confirmed the event would not go on as he had hoped.

"Law Enforcement has requested that we leave the premises, consistent with protocol, which we will do, immediately," Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after expressing hope the event would still go on. "I will be giving a press conference in 30 minutes from the White House Press Briefing Room."

Trump said first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and all Cabinet members were in "perfect condition" and declared they would reschedule it within 30 days.


Wolf Blitzer details 'very scary' moment he was thrown to the ground as gunfire rang out

CNN journalist Wolf Blitzer described the "very scary" scene that unfolded in front of him at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

"All of a sudden, I start hearing gunshots in the hall right near me," Blitzer said. He was returning to his seat after using the bathroom, and shooting broke out before the dinner got underway. "The next thing I knew, a police officer threw me to the ground and was on top of me."

Blitzer described the scene as "so worrisome, and the noise was so loud," and said the gunman "had a major weapon." Reports later indicated that was a shotgun.

Initial reports claimed the gunman died at the scene, however Axios has since reported the gunman was taken into custody.

Blitzer later described hearing about six shots.



'Get down!' Harrowing footage shows moment Trump evacuated amid reports of gunfire at WHCD

Footage from the White House Correspondents' Dinner shows clashing and officers yelling "get down!" before President Trump was evacuated.

Host Oz Pearlman is shown holding up a card to Melania Trump when the sound of plates breaking begins. Faces turn serious at Trump's head table, and although music continues, security officers rush in and tell people to get down. Security officers in tuxedos also rush in to whisk the president away quickly.

The guests at the head table quickly start to leave. Although people look around, nothing is shown as the source of the chaos. Most of the guests stay seated, however, they don't seem to know what's going on.

'Chaos in the ballroom': Journalists detail evacuation at WH Correspondents' Dinner

Journalists covering the White House Correspondents' Dinner described the chaotic scene that led to the evacuation of President Donald Trump and a shooter reportedly dead.

"I did not hear any shots. You just hear yelling like a commotion, someone coming through the room," a journalist told C-SPAN commentators during live coverage of the dinner. "I instinctively got under the table. Other people got under the table."

CNN journalist Brian Stelter told viewers that Oz Pearlman was talking to President Donald Trump at his table, "and all of a sudden all hell broke loose."

CNN's Kaitlan Collins reported that the dinner was in a "total state of chaos in the ballroom" and that there was "a shooter outside" before it was verified.

"We are now basically locked inside the ballroom," Collins added. "I've never seen anything like this in my life."

Other journalists told C-SPAN commentators that they were "not sure what happened," but suddenly they saw "Secret Service running on tables."


Trump's table evacuated at White House Correspondents Dinner after loud sounds reported

Security at the White House Correspondents' Dinner evacuated the head table where President Donald Trump was supposed to sit after reports of loud sounds.

C-SPAN hosts suddenly cut away from their normal coverage of the dinner. Security officers with guns were shown scanning the area around the table. No reason was given right away for the evacuation.

People started screaming "USA! USA!" with others chanting. People started walking out "relatively calmly," C-SPAN commentators noted.

Protesters had also crashed the dinner before it got underway.

'Who invited him?' C-SPAN host bewildered as embattled Kash Patel shows up at WHCD

A C-SPAN host was surprised to see FBI Director Kash Patel show up at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and wondered who could have possibly invited him.

"It looks like Kash Patel is in the ballroom. We do not know who invited him," C-SPAN host Peter Sein said. "You have to be a media organization and a member of the White House Correspondents' Association to have a table."

While "celebrities and administration officials" are usually invited by media organizations, Pash showed up as rumors swirl that he's the next on the White House chopping block and could be fired soon. Sein sounded perplexed to see the embattled Trump official dressed up and mingling like a normal guest.

Protesters crash White House Correspondents' Dinner shouting 'arrest Pete Hegseth!'

A couple of protesters made a scene before the start of the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday to demand Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's arrest for what they called "war crimes."

"Arrest Pete Hegseth for war crimes! Arrest Pete Hegseth for war crimes," one of the protesters yelled from the red carpet as Trump officials were showing up.

The two protesters showed up before the dinner was underway. One wore a Hegseth mask and held up his handcuffed arms while dancing around. The other yelled that Hegseth needs to be arrested "for threatening genocide, for kidnapping Nicolas Maduro, for overseeing target strikes," referring to "illegitimate" military action in Iran and Venezuela.

The protesters were forcibly removed by security, according to reports.

'This is unamerican': Trump's new green card crackdown unleashes tsunami of backlash

Hearing that the Trump administration plans to deny green cards for immigrants who express their political opinions has commentators sounding the alarm.

Journalist Hamed Aleaziz reported on Saturday that migrants will be denied green cards by the Trump administration if they took part in pro-Palestinian campus protests, criticized Israel online or desecrated an American flag.

The report generated outrage on social media.

"This is unamerican. Republican fascism is unamerican," Bluesky account John Pettus wrote. "We need to drive these fascists from public life with prosecutions for crimes and ostracism for immorality."

"Every single one of these actions—protesting, posting, desecrating the flag—is protected under the First Amendment," the Bluesky account Two Arrows wrote. Other accounts likewise saw the move as an attack on free speech.

"What the United States government is doing is clearly breaking the Constitution that it is legally required to follow," writer Jón Frímann posted. "Only illegal governments don't follow the basic laws of its own country. I hope citizens of the United States can fix this situation."

Others saw it as overly restrictive immigration requirements. Author Patrick Chovanec argued, "If you’re not involved in terrorist activities, I think your views on Israel or any other ally are irrelevant to your immigration status. There are plenty of Irish who have no love for the U.K."

Immigration lawyer Elissa Taub described how the requirement will complicate her job and force her to tell her clients that they "can't say anything remotely critical" about Israel or Judaism.

"As a Jewish immigration lawyer, I don't even know what to do with this. It exhausts me," Taub wrote. "How do I answer clients' questions about this policy without sounding totally self-interested or worse, bigoted?"

'Far worse': Trump admin accused of hiding extent of Iran damage to US bases

Iran struck back against the United States military harder and more destructively than Trump officials previously revealed, according to a report.

NBC News broke the news on Saturday that an Iranian F-5 fighter jet broke through U.S. air defenses and struck more than 100 targets, including 11 bases in Gulf states. Insiders told NBC News that the base suffered "extensive damage" that was "far worse than publicly acknowledged" and that the F-5 strike was "the first time an enemy fixed-wing aircraft has struck an American military base in years."

Trump has said that the U.S. had "all the cards" in the conflict, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that "there's almost nothing they can militarily do" in retaliation to U.S. strikes.

Republican lawmakers were reportedly upset that the extent of damage is greater than they were told. According to NBC News, an anonymous congressional aide said, “We have been asking for weeks and not getting specifics, even as the Pentagon is asking for a record high budget.”

The Pentagon has said that more than 400 U.S. service members have been injured, with thirteen killed. The conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute estimated that the Iranian strikes inflicted $5 billion in damages, as well.

The discovery comes as Trump canceled plans to send an envoy to negotiate an end to the conflict and the Strait of Hormuz blockade.

'Backstabbing RINO': 'Drama' catches congressional reporter's eye as GOP primary gets ugly

A GOP candidate in a California congressional race took a shot at his primary challenger's loyalty to Trump and MAGA credentials with a new attack ad.

Rep. Ken Calvert called fellow California congressional Republican Rep. Young Kim a "Trump-traitor" and a "RINO," or Republican in name only, in an ad for his primary campaign that blasts Kim's campaign material promoting her as "100 percent pro-Trump."

"Young Kim voted to censure and condemn Trump," the attack ad's dramatic narration goes, before featuring a soundbite of Trump referring to her as "backstabbing RINO."

Calvert and Kim are running for California's 40th Congressional District, one of the last GOP-controlled House seats in the state after redistricting.

Calvert's attack ad quotes Kim saying, "I don't work for President Trump" and shows pictures of her smiling and applauding with former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as it accuses her of "joining liberals to betray" Trump.

Axios congressional reporter Andrew Solender described the new ad as adding "drama" to the race.


Trump DOJ's glaring 'gaffe' flagged by legal expert in case against hate group watchdog

The Department of Justice hurt its own case against the Southern Poverty Law Center with a poor choice of words, with a legal expert calling the indictment "particularly weak" on its face.

"What makes this all highly problematic is an apparent gaffe in the charging language," legal expert Andrew Weissmann wrote in a Saturday piece for Just Security.

Weissman pointed out that the indictment carelessly alleged the SPLC made "misleading" statements to defraud banks and set up accounts to fund racist groups like the KKK. The lack of specifics and relying on accusations of misleading statements "is insufficient to prove guilt," according to Weissman.

"The government may have proof of false statements, but if it was counting on using misleading statements to meet its burden to establish the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, it is in for a surprise," Weissman wrote.

The main actors driving the case, acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel, lack "deep experience in financial investigations" and found the allegations "exceedingly far-fetched," he added.

'Only a matter of time': Politico pinpoints Trump official likely on the chopping block

FBI Director Kash Patel is likely next on the White House chopping block, according to reports coming out of Washington, D.C.

“It’s only a matter of time,” an anonymous official told Politico's Dasha Burns.

Patel's drinking has become a focal point recently, accusations he denies, but Burns wrote on X that "there are several reasons" why Trump wants Patel out of his cabinet.

"Top among them is the number of negative stories centered on Patel," according to Burns. The anonymous official told her that it's “not a good look for a Cabinet secretary,” and Trump is tired of the distraction he's causing.

Patel has been dogged by controversy since taking over the FBI in February 2025.

The Atlantic reported he alarmed colleagues with excessive drinking and unexplained absences — including a "freak-out" in which he mistook a routine IT error for a firing. He sued The Atlantic for $250 million over the story, then watched a separate defamation lawsuit get thrown out this week.

He has also faced scrutiny for reportedly using FBI jets to visit his girlfriend, assigning her a SWAT security detail, and ordering polygraph tests on bureau officials to find out who had said negative things about him. The Intercept reported this week he previously admitted to two alcohol-related arrests.

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