Trump Claimed He Delayed His Evacuation During The Shooting

• 27.04.2026, 9:15

Allegedly out of curiosity.

US President Donald Trump has revealed that he did not immediately leave the room during the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner because he wanted to understand what was going on.

In an interview with CBS News he noted that the atmosphere began to change as illusionist Oz Perlman appeared on stage and tried to guess the name of White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt's unborn child.

Trump said there was a loud sound at first, which he mistook for either a gunshot or a tray of dishes falling - the sort of thing that sometimes happens at major events. He admitted that he had hoped for the latter, but it quickly became clear that the situation was far more serious.

The president added that as panic grew, he and first lady Melania Trump began to realize the magnitude of what was happening.

Reporters noted that the evacuation took about 30 seconds and asked why it wasn't immediate. Trump responded that part of the delay was his initiative: he wanted to see what was going on around him and had asked security personnel several times to wait.

He concluded by thanking security for their quick response and apprehension of the attacker.