April 27, 2026 / 1:25 PM EDT / CBS News
The day after a gunman attempted to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton, President Trump spoke with CBS News correspondent Norah O’Donnell on “60 Minutes” about his experience, the suspect’s apparent motivations and what happened as Secret Service agents removed him and the first lady from the stage.
Authorities identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Allen, a Caltech graduate from Torrance, California, who was captured at the scene and faces federal charges. Officials say Allen emailed family members a document investigators are calling a “manifesto,” in which he listed “Administration officials” as targets and prioritized them from highest- to lowest-ranking, according to a copy obtained by CBS News.
When O’Donnell read passages from the manifesto that described targeting administration officials and used language calling someone a “pedophile, rapist, and traitor,” Mr. Trump reacted angrily, calling the document “stunning” to read and insisting the descriptions did not apply to him.
“You read that crap from some sick person?” he said, denying the accusations. “I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody. I’m not a pedophile. I was totally exonerated.” He added that others, he said, were involved in the Epstein matter. At times during the exchange he criticized the press, calling them “horrible people” and telling O’Donnell she was “a disgrace” for reading the gunman’s words on air.
O’Donnell asked whether the gunman was referring to the president; Mr. Trump repeatedly denied the accusations and objected to the manifesto being read on “60 Minutes,” calling the author “a sick person” and saying viewers should be ashamed to hear it.
On the moments at the dinner when loud bangs were heard, Trump said he “wasn’t worried” and characterized the world as “crazy.” The president described seeing the first lady’s expression change and later said she was “very upset” by what took place. He acknowledged that Secret Service agents surrounded him within about 10 seconds and escorted him offstage in roughly 20 seconds, saying he initially lingered because he wanted to see what was happening.
“I’ve been through this before a couple of times,” he said, noting the first lady had not experienced similar incidents but handled it well. He described her as “very strong, smart.”
Trump praised the dinner’s spirit and urged that it not be canceled. He said the event, which celebrates the First Amendment and freedom of the press and was the first such dinner he agreed to attend as president, should be rescheduled within 30 days with increased security.
“I don’t want to see it be canceled,” he said. “I think it’s really bad for a crazy person to be able to cancel something like this.” He acknowledged there are “great people in the press” and suggested organizers reschedule the event quickly, saying it would have “even more security” and a bigger perimeter.
O’Donnell noted that the White House Correspondents’ Association appreciated his attendance; Mr. Trump encouraged her to tell them to “get it going” and said he hoped they would hold the dinner again soon.