Trump Declares Chaotic WHCA Dinner Will Continue After Shooter ‘Apprehended’: ‘LET THE SHOW GO ON’

Secret Service agents respond during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump declared the White House Correspondents’ Dinner will resume on Saturday night after the annual event quickly morphed into a chaotic crime scene when a shooter fired several shots inside the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The president took to Truth Social to announce the shooter was apprehended, and he thanked the Secret Service and local cops for doing a “fantastic job.”

He said he recommended to the WHCA to “LET THE SHOW GO ON,” despite the madness that broke out just minutes after the event started. Trump added the decision ultimately comes down to the White House Correspondents’ Association, but that he wants the event to restart.

Shortly after his post, a WHCA spokesperson announced at 9:26 p.m. ET that the event would resume. WHCA President and CBS News reporter Weija Jiang had told the stunned crowd the dinner would continue a few minutes earlier as well.

Here is Trump’s full Truth Social post:

Quite an evening in D.C. Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted quickly and bravely. The shooter has been apprehended, and I have recommended that we “LET THE SHOW GO ON” but, will entirely be guided by Law Enforcement. They will make a decision shortly. Regardless of that decision, the evening will be much different than planned, and we’ll just, plain, have to do it again. President DONALD J. TRUMP

His post on the shooter being apprehended came after there was confusion about what initially happened. CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins reported live on air that she heard from one security source at the venue that the shooter had been killed.

The attempted attack coincided with Trump making his first appearance at the annual event since he entered the White House in 2017. It also comes after Trump has been the target of multiple assassination attempts in the last couple of years, including the 2024 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania where he was hit in the ear; firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed in that attack.

Watch the event by clicking here.

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