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President Donald Trump was uninjured and other top leaders of the United States were evacuated from an annual dinner of White House correspondents on Saturday night after an unspecified threat. There did not immediately appear to be any injuries, and one law-enforcement official said a shooter had opened fire.
Authorities said the incident occurred outside the ballroom where Trump and other guests were seated.
It was not immediately clear what happened. The event was scrapped and will be rescheduled.
“We will do this again,” said Weijia Jiang, president of the White House correspondents’ association.
Shortly afterward, staff began breaking down table settings and the presidential lectern.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the banquet hall at the Washington Hilton as guests dining on spring pea and burrata salad ducked under tables by the hundreds. Audible gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realized something was happening. Hundreds of journalists got on phones to call in information.
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as Trump was escorted off stage. He fell briefly — he apparently tripped — and was helped up by Secret Service agents.
A law enforcement official confirmed there was a shooter, but no further details were immediately available. All officials protected by the Secret Service were evacuated.
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A law enforcement officer was shot in the bullet-resistant vest but is expected to be OK, one law enforcement officer told The Associated Press.
Those in attendance included Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — and many other leaders of the Trump administration.
Generally, the Hilton hotel, where the dinner has taken place for years, remains open to regular guests during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and security has typically been focused on the ballroom and rather than the hotel at large, with little screening for people not entering the dinner itself.
In past years, that has created openings for disruptions in the lobby and other public spaces, including protests in which security moved to remove guests who unfurled banners or staged demonstrations.
-AP journalists Alanna Durkin Richer, Michael Balsamo, Zeke Miller and Anna Johnson contributed to this report.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
