“This was very unexpected,” President Donald Trump said of the shooting incident at the Washington Hilton, adding that the event now “unified” members of both parties and the press. Speaking at the late night press conference at the White House following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at Washington Hilton in DC.
Trump confirmed that one Secret Service officer was shot “but saved” by the fact that he was wearing “obviously a very good bulletproof vest.”
“He was shot from very close distance with a very powerful gun, and the vest did the job. I just spoke to the officer, and he’s doing great. He’s great,” Trump said.
Trump said a gunman opened fire at a security checkpoint while armed with multiple weapons and was taken down by what he described as “very brave” members of the Secret Service. He added that he had ordered the release of tape showing the violence committed by “this thug.”
The president also reinforced his message about the need for a White House ballroom, citing heightened security concerns.
“We need the ballroom. That’s why Secret Service, that’s why the military are demanding it. They’ve wanted the ballroom for 150 years for lots of different reasons, but today’s a little bit different, because today we need levels of security that probably nobody has ever seen before,” he said.
Trump said that his preference was to return to the hotel and continue the event but that the law enforcement did allow it. “I fought like hell to stay,” Trump said.
Trump said he initially thought the noise he heard was “trey.”
“I was watching to see what was happening. Probably should have gone down even faster. Melania was very cognizant, I think, of what happened. I think she knew immediately what happened. She was saying, it’s a bad noise. And we were whisked away along with other people, but we were really whisked away,” he said.
Asked whether the shooter assembled the weapon on site and why such incidents keep happening to him, Trump said it follows a pattern dating back to Butler, arguing that assassins do not target those who “do not do much.” He added that the shooter was taken down at the first line of defense.
Trump said the suspect is from California and is being questioned.
The President said that he wants “to live to make this country great.” Speaking of the motivation of the shooter and whether he was working with someone or acted alone, President expressed his view. “My impression is, he was a lone wolf , a whack job,” he shared. He also commented about the nature of the job of the president that comes with risk and is very “dangerous.”
Trump ended the press conference by saying he is “not a basket case” and that he is doing the job for the country. He said this incident “will not deter me.”
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