‘Sense of disbelief’: how White House press dinner attack unfolded – The Latest

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0:12Biggest thing I remember was just being utterly sort of confused and that sense of commotion. Trump seizing this moment for his own political advantage, turned this into an advert for his$400 million ballroom at the White House. I didn't want to say this, but this is why we have to have the ballroom. That's why Secret Service, that's why the military are demanding it. What journalists experienced on Saturday night is frankly what millions of Americans have in town halls, in churches, even in schools. Political violence does remain in America a real characteristic of the Trump era. The shooting at the White House Correspondents Gala in Washington over the weekend has raised serious questions about how the suspect was able to get so close to the president.

1:01We speak to our reporter who was there. From the Guardians today in Focus, this is the latest with me, Lucy Hoth.

1:10Well, dialing in is David Smith, our Washington Bureau Chief. David, thanks for joining us. You were at the White House Correspondents Association dinner on Saturday in Washington. Let's start by, can you just describe how it all unfolded and what it was like for you being in that room? Yeah, it's great to be here. This is an annual dinner I've attended many times. And the evening began very normally, guests in tuxedos and ball gowns filing into this subterranean ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Of course, what was different this year was Donald Trump was attending as president for the first time.

1:46He saluted during the national anthem, took his seat. And for about 30 to 40 minutes, we were just making small talk, eating salad, drinking wine. And then suddenly I heard some loud bangs towards the back of the ballroom. No idea what it was, as Trump himself said later. It could have been plates clattering. I turned, saw guests diving for cover under tables. and that sort of moved like a wave through the room and thought, well, maybe I had better do the same. Yes, and this kind of extraordinary scene of security agents, secret service agents, coming in to get the president and his wife, J.D.

2:26Vance, the vice president and his wife out, and other senior White House officials who were present and who are reportedly the intended targets of this suspected attack. What was it like to experience that rapid security response? It was stunning. The biggest thing I remember was just being utterly sort of confused and that sense of commotion and just not knowing what was happening. We were we were crouching under these tables as I looked around. I could see fear in the eyes of some of the guests. There was an eerie silence for a while. And we saw these Secret Service agents moving swiftly through the room, treading on chairs to get to the stage.

3:05And I got up to look what was happening. Trump and Vance had been whisked away. And there were armed police there with helmets and rifles scouting out the room. And just a general sense of disbelief for everybody. And then in the minutes that ensued, slowly but surely, a certain kind of normality returned. And we got up and we started talking to each other. And of course, in a room full of journalists, there are a lot of phone calls to editors and people shooting video on their phones. So the suspect is Cole Thomas Allen. What do we know about him? Because we do know reportedly that he'd been staying in the hotel where this dinner took place for some days prior to the attack and that he'd also written a manifesto that he'd sent to his family about 10 minutes before carrying out this attempted attack.

3:55That's right. The authorities say Alan is 31 years old. He's from near Los Angeles in California, is a teacher with a background in computer science and apparently enjoyed making video games, evidence perhaps of a small political donation. He apparently travelled to this event by train from California, which is a fairly unusual thing to do. And the suspicion there is perhaps he was avoiding airport metal detectors by going on the train. He apparently stayed as a guest in the hotel, which would have allowed him to get past at least some of the security. And yes, on Sunday, we got evidence reportedly of a manifesto.

4:36he wrote a letter to a family where he set out his contempt, his disdain for the Trump administration, saying he couldn't believe this is the government of the US and setting out a plan to target as many officials as possible, also pleading for forgiveness and repeatedly apologising for what he was about to do. Goodness. And it raises up serious issues and questions of security, doesn't it? Because as per footage that's been released by Trump on Truth Social, his social media platform, Alan was able to bypass a Secret Service agent, you know, heavily armed with a rifle, but also carrying multiple knives.

5:18So that is quite a serious security failure, isn't it? Yes. And of course, he opened fire and shot a Secret Service agent who was protected by his body armour. I think, you know, the main discussion on Sunday in Washington was, how could this happen, this kind of security breach. Certainly for me personally, security did actually feel a little tighter than usual. I had to share my invitation even to get onto the hotel grounds, but I heard others saying that it was pretty lax, and as a general rule with this, you don't have to show your personal ID. You are mingling with hotel guests. Of course, the administration would claim ultimately the system did work.

5:55This attacker did not get to the ballroom, did not have Trump in his sights, But even so, I think there will now be a review of whether an event like this can proceed in the same way in future. So this is the third assassination attempt of the President Donald Trump, isn't it? After two attempts during his 2024 election campaign. Trump held a press conference right after the incident. He's then done a series of media interviews. One journalist read this alleged manifesto to him, to which Trump described the reporter as a disgrace. How would you describe his response since Saturday night? I think classic Trump, the showman, seizing this moment for his own political advantage and realizing how he can cast himself as a brave, defiant leader who will not be cowed by the terrorists.

6:48It was typical Trump to hold a press conference immediately, be wearing black tie. The journalists were also still dressed in their gala fineries. And of course, also a very typical Trump that he would immediately pivot and turn this into an advert for his 400 million dollar ballroom at the White House, which has been very controversial. But he suggested this proves tight security is needed. Just as a side note, certainly this particular dinner being run by a journalist organization would never be held in such a ballroom anyway. But the whole thing really recalls the assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, when he rose from the ground, you know, fist aloft, his face blooded and chanted fight, fight, fight, producing some iconic images.

7:33And of course, anything that changes the conversation from the Iran war is helpful to him. Yeah, but obviously there is real concern about this rise in political violence in the last few months, the assassination of the far right podcaster Charlie Kirk last year, similarly the assassination of Melissa Hortman, a Minnesota Democrat and her husband, and an epidemic of gun violence. Has there been any kind of serious response to the White House in response to this? Obviously, political violence is something that's always occurred in America, but it does feel particularly febrile at the moment. That's right.

8:08And Trump himself was asked about this at the Saturday press conference and more or less shrugged it off. And the kind of air resignation indicated it's the price of doing business these days that as a politician, you'll be a target. Certainly, some politicians on Sunday pushed back against that and said, you know, this is no way to live with these twin demons of rising political violence and, yes, the gun violence epidemic. I think some in the room made the good point that what journalists experienced on Saturday nights is frankly what millions of Americans have in town halls, in churches, even in schools, tragically.

8:46And of course, we had the benefit of the protection of the Secret Service in what was arguably the safest room in America. But sadly, I don't think there will be a particular political reckoning over this, over gun violence or political violence. but it does remain a scourge in America, a real characteristic of the Trump era. Well, David, thank you. Thank you for your reporting and stay safe after a very troubling weekend. Thank you. That's it for today. My huge thanks to David Smith, our Washington Bureau Chief. Do read his reporting over at theguardian.com as well as our live blog on this story.

9:24And do listen to our sister podcast, Politics Weekly, where Pippa Creera and Kieran Stacey will be discussing the many headaches facing Keir Starmer and reports that Labour MPs are plotting to get rid of him. Thanks for listening to this episode of The Latest. Today in Focus will be back on your feeds as usual tomorrow morning. The latest will be back tomorrow night. This episode was presented by me, Lucy Hoff. It was produced by Bryony Moore. The senior producer was Ryan Ramgoban and the lead producer was Zoe Hitch.

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