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Was White House press dinner shooting linked to Iran war? Trump responds
Before addressing the presser, Donald Trump shared CCTV footage of the suspect running past security perimetres, and pictures of him being pinned on the ground.
US President Donald Trump escaped unharmed after a shooting incident at the annual White House correspondents' dinner in Washington, United States, on Saturday night. The shooter was apprehended and taken into custody. Later when he was asked whether the shooting was linked to the Iran war, Trump said, “I don't think so.”
As soon as shots were fired at the press dinner at the Hilton hotel in Washington, the Secret Service and members of the National Guard rushed to Trump and took him away from the event. Present at the event with the President were First Lady Melania Trump, vice president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and defense secretary Pete Hegseth. Trump and the others are uninjured after the incident. Follow Trump shooting incident live updates
Before addressing a press conference at the White House, Trump took to Truth Social, saying he had “quite an evening”. The US President said he insisted to “let the show go on” despite the security scare. He also shared pictures of the apprehended suspect and CCTV footage of him speeding past the Security Service perimetres.
Trump told reporters during the presser that shooter was a “lone wolf” and a “would-be assassin”, adding that he was “a whack job”.
When asked if the shooting was linked to the ongoing war with Iran, the US President said, “I don't think so.” He further stated, “This incident won't deter me from winning the Iran war.”
He also said that the dinner would be rescheduled soon.
Trump hailed the Secret Service agents for their prompt action and said that an investigation is underway into the incident.
Trump also revealed that the suspect hailed from California, indicating that police were searching his residence there.
What's happening in US-Iran war?
Donald Trump abruptly called of special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner's trip to Pakistan for peace talks with Iran, saying there was no point "sitting around talking about nothing". He was reportedly not content with Tehran's negotiating position.
"They gave us a paper that should have been better and -- interestingly -- immediately, when I cancelled it, within 10 minutes, we got a new paper that was much better," he told reporters. Follow Iran war live updates
Trump said he told his team that they have "all the cards", adding that Iran can call them anytime. However, he refused for them to take any more "18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing".
He also clarified that the cancellation of his team's Pakistan visit does not mean that hostilities will resume. "We haven't thought about it yet," he added.
The cancellation came a short while before Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi wrapped up his visit to Islamabad after meeting with Pakistan's military chief Asim Munir, prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, and foreign minister Ishaq Dar.
