Updated on: November 27, 2025 / 8:55 PM EST / CBS News
President Trump spent Thanksgiving at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, with first lady Melania Trump. The president played golf in the morning and, Thursday night, he and the first lady called service members to mark the holiday.
Earlier in the week the couple participated in the annual White House turkey pardoning on Tuesday, granting Waddle and Gobble a “full and unconditional pardon” before departing for the holiday.
The trip to Florida came as the city grappled with a shooting near the White House late Wednesday night that left two members of the National Guard wounded. Authorities identified the victims as West Virginia National Guard members Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Army Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24. Both service members had been stationed in Washington, D.C., since August and were deputized to conduct presence patrols less than 24 hours before the shooting.
Beckstrom later died from her injuries at a hospital, President Trump told reporters Thursday night. Wolfe was described as “fighting for his life;” U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said he was in critical condition after surgery. A White House official told CBS News the president spoke with Beckstrom’s parents on Thursday night.
Authorities identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national they said was paroled into the United States on Sept. 8, 2021, under the Biden-era Operation Allies Welcome program for Afghan nationals. The CIA confirmed Lakanwal had worked with the agency in Afghanistan. Officials said the suspect was shot by another Guard member, taken into custody and was in serious condition; investigators said he drove from Washington state to carry out the attack.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced an additional 500 National Guard members would be sent to Washington, joining roughly 2,200 troops already deployed there as of Sunday morning.
On Wednesday night the president posted a video addressing the shooting, calling it “an act of evil and an act of hatred and an act of terror,” and saying it was a crime against the nation and against humanity. He noted the suspect had entered the U.S. under the Biden-era program and vowed to “reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden,” saying authorities must take all necessary measures to remove anyone who “does not belong here, or add benefit to our country.” In the video he also pivoted to discuss Somali immigrants in Minnesota.