‘What happened is...’: Trump’s absurd excuse for being evacuated after Vance during White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting

US President Donald Trump spoke up after a video went viral on the internet showing Vice President JD Vance was evacuated before him after shots were fired at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday (Apr 25). Trump was also seen falling down as Secret Service agents rushed him out of the venue in a chaotic manner. Reacting to the incident, Trump made a bizarre excuse, insisting that he “wanted to see what was going on”.

Speaking on ‘60 Minutes’ alongside CBS News’ Norah O'Donnell, Trump recalled the moment he was rushed by the Secret Service agents to safety after Vance. Notably, the US president was escorted out about 30 seconds after the vice president. In the viral clip, Trump can be seen surrounded by the agents as they guide him to safety. However, just when Trump stands up and walks, he falls down, before making a chaotic escape from the scene.

What excuse did Trump make?

“Well, what happened is, it was a little bit me,” Trump explained. He then claimed that he “wanted to see what was happening”.

“And different than what would be normal noise from a ballroom, which you hear all the time,” Trump continued. “And I was surrounded by great people. And I probably made them act a little bit more slowly. I said, ‘Wait a minute, wait a minute. Lemme see. Wait a minute.’”

“What happened is then I started walking with them. I turned, I started walking, and they said, ‘Please go down. Please go down on the floor.’ So I went down and the first lady went down also. But we were asked to go down by the agents as I was walking,” Trump said, confirming that he was “pretty much” asked to crawl out of the room.

Trump also said that he was “not worried” during the shooting. “I wasn’t worried. I understand life. We live in a crazy world,” he said. Authorities have said that the shooter was targeting Trump officials during the event.

Media gala shooting

Armed guards opened fire at the gunman, who charged through a security checkpoint just outside the ballroom where Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, other top officials, and a crowd of hundreds were present for the black-tie gathering. People took cover under the tables as the Secret Service teams swarmed the venue.

Following the incident, Trump described the suspect as a “lone wolf”. “In my opinion, he was a lone wolf,” Trump said of the shooter, describing the man as a “whack job”. He added that the man had been captured and his apartment in California was being searched.

“The man has been captured. They’re going to his apartment. I guess he lives in California, and he’s a sick person, a very sick person, and we don’t want things like this to happen,” Trump said.