Trump Explains Why He Delayed Secret Service Response During WHCD Shooting

Questions remain following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, April 26, 2026, fueling speculation and conspiracy theories across social media. While the public awaits further details, Donald Trump has clarified one key aspect of the incident: why the Secret Service prioritized securing Vice President JD Vance before evacuating him to safety.

In an interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday, Trump acknowledged that the delay was his responsibility. “I wasn’t making it that easy for them,” he told correspondent Norah O’Donnell. “I wanted to see what was going on.”

Trump described the scene, stating he was surrounded by his security detail, whom he may have slowed down. “I probably made them act a little more slowly,” he said, repeatedly instructing his security team to “wait a minute.”

O’Donnell pressed for clarification: “Just at that moment, where it looks like you go sort of down, you were telling them to wait?”

“Well, what happened is I started walking with them, I turned, I started walking,” Trump explained. “And they said, ‘Please go down, please go down on the floor.’ So I went down, and the first lady went down. We were asked to go down by the agents, as we were walking.”

“They wanted you to crawl out?” O’Donnell asked.

“Pretty much,” Trump replied. “I was standing up and turned around, the opposite direction, and started pretty much walking out. Pretty tall, a little bent over, you know, because I’m not looking to stand too tall, but I was walking out. Pretty much about halfway there when they said, ‘Please go down to the floor, please go down to the floor.’

So I dropped to the floor, so did the first lady.”

President Trump confirmed he intentionally delayed the Secret Service’s response to the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, telling 60 Minutes that his curiosity about the unfolding situation prompted him to hesitate. The interview aired on April 26, 2026. @NorahODonnell

Third Assassination Attempt on Trump During Second Term

Saturday’s attack marked the third assassination attempt on Donald Trump’s life. It was the first to occur during his second term as president. Trump previously survived two other attacks while campaigning in 2024:

• A shooting at Trump International Golf Club in Florida while he was golfing.
• A campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed his ear.

Suspect Arrested Before Reaching Ballroom

Cole Tomas Allen, the suspected shooter, was apprehended and arrested at the scene. He did not enter the ballroom but was armed with a shotgun, handgun, and multiple knives when he attempted to breach a security checkpoint, according to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. Allen, a 31-year-old teacher from Torrance, California, was staying at the hotel where the dinner was scheduled to take place. Investigators found a written “manifesto” in his possession, detailing his intent to target Trump administration officials, a senior U.S. official told CBS News.