US3 min(s) read
Published 09:43 27 Apr 2026 GMT
President Donald Trump has slammed a news correspondent as a "disgrace" for reading out parts of the alleged manifesto of the suspect accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
As previously reported, Trump had to be evacuated from the event on Saturday night after a gunman stormed the Washington Hilton hotel ballroom and opened fire near a security checkpoint.
Secret Service agents exchanged fire with the suspect before bringing him down, with one agent struck in a bulletproof vest and expected to recover. No other injuries were reported.
The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, a teacher from California, is set to appear in court on Monday, per the BBC.
Following his arrest, an alleged manifesto was shared, which Allen is believed to have sent to his family shortly before the incident.
In the 1,052-word message, Allen allegedly stated his reasoning for targeting the president, which CBS News correspondent Norah O’Donnell quoted in part during a 60 Minutes interview with the President on Sunday evening.
She read from the alleged manifesto: "I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes."
When asked for his reaction to Allen's alleged words, Trump responded: "Well, I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would because you’re horrible people.
"Horrible people. Yeah, he did write that. I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody."
O'Donnell then asked: "Do you think he was referring to you?", to which Trump replied: "I’m not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person? I got associated with all… stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated.
"Your friends on the other side of the plate are the ones that were involved with, let’s say, [Jeffrey] Epstein or other things. But I said to myself, ‘You know, I’ll do this interview and they’ll probably…’ I read the manifesto. You know, he’s a sick person.
"But you should be ashamed of yourself reading that because I’m not any of those things."
As O'Donnell tried to tell the president that she was quoting the alleged shooter's words, Trump branded her "disgraceful".
He added: "You shouldn’t be reading that on 60 Minutes. You’re a disgrace. But go ahead. Let’s finish the interview."
When the journalist tried to move the interview along to another part of Allen's alleged manifesto, Trump interjected to call her "disgraceful" again.
Trump has never been charged with any crimes relating to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and claims he ended ties with him long before his crimes came to public scrutiny.
When questioned about Allen's alleged motive, Trump added: "I do think that the hate speech of the Democrats much more so is– is very dangerous. I really think it’s very dangerous for the country."
Trump also branded the shooter "pretty incompetent", adding: "He got caught pretty easily."
Allen had attempted to storm the Washington Hilton armed with a shotgun and several knives, heading for the ballroom where the president and around 2,500 guests had gathered.
Trump praised the swift actions of the security team in taking Allen down and disarming him, adding: "Those guys did a good job last night. They did a really good job."
It is not the first time Trump has been the target of an alleged assassination attempt, as his ear was injured after he was shot at by Thomas Crooks at the July 13, 2024, rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
In September 2024, Trump was also targeted by Ryan Routh, who lay in wait at his Florida golf course with an assault rifle.
Addressing the latest incident, Trump added: "I wasn’t worried. I understand life. We live in a crazy world."
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