Weijia Jiang, WHCA president and CBS News’ Senior White House Correspondent, has released a statement following last night’s shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Taking to X, she wrote, “I know many of you are still processing what happened last night. Thank you to the USSS and all the law enforcement agencies who kept us safe. We are so grateful. To the members of the WHCA, we will get through this together.” In an attached note, Jiang said the shooting “was a harrowing moment for everyone in attendance.” She wrote, “We express our deepest gratitude to the U.S. Secret Service and all law enforcement personnel who ensured the safety of everyone in the ballroom and beyond. Their actions protected thousands of guests, and we wish a full and speedy recovery to the officer who was injured in the line of duty. We are grateful everyone in attendance was unharmed, including the President, the First Lady, and the Vice President.”
Her note continued, “Our dinner exists to celebrate the First Amendment and the hard daily work of the journalists who defend it. Last night, those journalists showed exactly the kind of calm and courage that work demands, jumping into reporting immediately after the incident unfolded. We are proud of everyone in that room. The WHCA board will be meeting to assess what happened and determine how to proceed. We will provide updates as soon as any are available.”
On Sunday morning, Jiang appeared on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” and spoke about the evening.
Jiang talked about why Trump stayed behind. She said, “It all happened so fast, and when we were still on stage, we were in the middle of a very light moment with the entertainer who was doing a trick. And when I heard something in the audience, I thought it was a protester or something we’re very used to. But then, when I saw SWAT team members come to the head table and rush us to the ground and say, down, down, down, we were crawling off the stage. And in the back, that is a holding area where people wait, including President Trump and distinguished guests, to go onto the stage.”
Jiang praised the SWAT officers and Secret Service security for their quick work to protect the President and everyone in attendance.
She also talked about her family being in the audience and how she was processing the event. “I have covered countless shootings and murders and terrible things in my career, and this is the first time that I’ve been on the other side of a potentially violent and deadly situation, and no amount of reporting can prepare you for that. You’re right that my family was in the audience, and it was incredibly meaningful to have them there. That added an additional complicated layer, because I’m thinking about the safety of my members, the safety of all of our dinner guests, and obviously, at the forefront, the safety of the people who I can see, who matter the most to me. And we didn’t have information.”
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Jiang shared how President Trump called her into his holding room to brief her before he posted about the dinner being postponed. “He really wanted to talk it through and to explain that he himself realized how important that night was. It’s something we do every night, and when I did address the room, I reminded everyone that, you know, the freedoms that we are celebrating tonight in the First Amendment are still incredibly fragile.” She continued, “And I appreciate that the president acknowledged that, and he told me that we were not going to be deterred. He refused to stand down, and that’s why he was there, despite what had unfolded, and I don’t know what his team was telling him, they were relaying to me, the president keeps saying he’s not going anywhere, so that’s why he stayed.”
President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and numerous cabinet officials were swiftly evacuated from the event as the shooter was tackled by law enforcement. Law enforcement officials said the suspect charged a security checkpoint with magnetometer screening devices with a rifle, a handgun and knives in tow. He is reported to have exchanged gunfire with Secret Service officials.
Shortly after, the President held a press conference and promised the dinner would be rescheduled within 30 days. “I fought like hell” not to cancel the event, he said. He added, “We’re going to do it again. We’re not going to let anybody take over our society. We’re not going to cancel things out, because we can’t do that.”
President Trump has had a pugnacious relationship with mainstream media and news organizations. At his late-night briefing, he sought to strike a conciliatory tone and even complimented the media for the immediate coverage of the latest shooting incident to disrupt the normal routines of American life. Trump praised the quick work of law enforcement officials, who ensured the gun was “taken down by some very brave members” of the Secret Service.
“In light of this evening’s events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts…we have to resolve our differences peacefully,” Trump said at the end of the night.
From Variety US