Weijia Jiang: I was on stage last night with the president. This is what I saw.

1 hour ago 4

The nighttime was going precisely arsenic planned.

For 8 months, arsenic president of the White House Correspondents Association, I'd been moving connected this meal party. Above all, I had hoped it would reconstruct immoderate normalcy betwixt the Trump medication and the press. Maybe I was naïve, but I wanted it to beryllium a country we don't spot capable of successful Washington: a bipartisan one. And it was.

There were much than 2,500 journalists and guests dressed to the nines. CEOs, celebrities, ambassadors and members of the furniture including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Robert F. Kenndy Jr., Todd Blanche, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin — galore conscionable feet from the president successful the ballroom.

Most important was Donald Trump himself: aft 15 years of boycotting the dinner, helium yet decided to come. It was the archetypal clip helium had attended arsenic president.

Trump was successful a large mood. The Marine Corps Band had conscionable played The Star-Spangled Banner, and the president was connected the dais. We were chatting astir the past clip helium attended, erstwhile Barack Obama was president.

"You know, everyone thinks I was upset by each those jokes Obama made. But I truly wasn't," I retrieve him telling maine arsenic Oz Pearlman — the mentalist I had booked for the nighttime — asked if helium could interrupt. He was doing a instrumentality connected the property secretary, Karoline Leavitt, and helium wanted the president and maine to watch.

Leavitt is owed to springiness commencement successful a substance of days, and she'd told maine earlier that Pearlman claimed he'd fig retired the sanction of her unborn baby. "There's nary mode helium would ever beryllium capable to bash that," she said. "Very fewer radical cognize it. It's impossible."

We each watched. Melania Trump, seated to Leavitt's left, was rather engaged. Oz prepared to crook implicit a portion of insubstantial with a sanction scribbled connected it with a Sharpie.

Oz revealed a sanction to the archetypal woman and Leavitt, and I watched her reaction. The look connected her face—shock and delight—is an representation present frozen successful my mind, due to the fact that it's the past happening I saw before chaos unfolded.

At that precise moment, we heard commotion. I looked retired successful the assemblage and thought determination mightiness person been a heckler. But I didn't spot one.

Before I could marque consciousness of what was unfolding, equipped agents rushed toward the dais. They multiplied quickly, sprinting from the different broadside of the signifier to situation us. I heard shouts of "down, down, down, get down."

I got retired of my seat and was pursuing Trump erstwhile helium deed the ground. I got connected my hands and knees too. Only aboriginal did I spot a large bruise connected my near knee. I was crawling, and we were ushered down the stage.

White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) meal successful Washington

I crawled to the holding area, wherever the amusement producers were watching the video feeds of the unrecorded images from wrong the ballroom.

Inside weren't conscionable my chap journalists but besides the astir important radical successful my life. Moments earlier the chaos unfolded, I locked eyes with my 82-year-old begetter who waved to me. He looked happy. He and my ma some conflict with mobility. "Where are their wheelchairs?" I wanted to know. Who's going to propulsion them retired of danger? My hubby and my 7-year-old girl were determination too. Was she scared? Was she crying? I wanted to clasp her.

I scanned the feeds looking for them, shaking. I asked anyone who could perceive me: What happened? What's wrong? Did anyone get hurt?

I person covered galore shootings and murders successful my career, including Sandy Hook successful 2012. But this was the archetypal clip I recovered myself connected the different side. No 1 tin hole you for it.

There was a unreserved of beforehand guys and Secret Service guys. "Blue, blue!" 1 said, rushing toward the country wherever Trump was being held.

There were respective unverified quality reports and tweets. Clearly, determination was a concern with a shooter and a gun, but the accusation I had was conscionable that the president wants the amusement to spell on. He did not privation to beryllium deterred.

At immoderate point, I went backmost connected signifier and assured everyone that the amusement would spell on. People were gladsome to perceive that. We waited and waited. Then 1 of the beforehand guys told maine the president wanted to speech to me. I was led into a country by the president's closest aides.

The archetypal woman was lasting and offered maine a smile. "Are you OK?" she asked. Vice President Vance entered and asked the same.Secretary Rubio was adjacent to me. I conscionable kept hearing, "We're going to the White House. We're going to the White House."

But the president did not privation to go. He told maine that helium wanted to get backmost connected stage. But besides that his code — a "shtick," helium called it — would present beryllium "totally inappropriate."

They decided connected a property conference astatine the White House successful 30 minutes, which I announced to the ballroom. The country laughed. I assured them it wasn't a joke.

Then, to the country of reporters, I added: "I said earlier contiguous that journalism is simply a nationalist service, due to the fact that erstwhile determination is an emergency, we tally to the crisis, not distant from it. And connected a nighttime erstwhile we are reasoning astir the freedoms successful the First Amendment, we indispensable besides deliberation astir however fragile they are."

I got a thrust with the statesmanlike motorcade, which had waited for me. Other reporters ran to the White House successful their heels.

He looked solemn arsenic helium walked to the podium. After helium gave an update astir the suspect, helium called connected maine to inquire the archetypal question. I wanted to cognize what helium was reasoning erstwhile helium realized what was going on.

He said, "It was ever shocking erstwhile thing similar this happens, happened to me, a small bit, and that ne'er changes the information we're sitting close adjacent to each other, archetypal woman connected my right, and I heard a noise, and benignant of thought it was a tray."

I was struck erstwhile Trump acknowledged however the shooting shaped his presumption of his narration with the press. He said, "This was an lawsuit dedicated to state of code that was expected to bring unneurotic members of some parties with members of the press, and successful a definite way, it did, due to the fact that the information that they conscionable unified. I saw a country that was conscionable wholly unified."

Unity isn't a connection we perceive overmuch these days. But that's however I felt, too.

Trump insists we are having the meal again successful 30 days. Let's see.

As for the sanction of Leavitt's babe girl: I saw it. But I haven't had a accidental to corroborate it.

In: