Karoline Leavitt made a chilling remark minutes before gunshots rang out at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
President Donald Trump, Melania Trump, several Cabinet members, and other top White House officials were rushed out of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday after what sounded like gunfire at the Washington Hilton in D.C.—the same hotel where John Hinckley attempted to kill President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
But moments before the chaos, the White House press secretary told reporters that Trump, who was set to address the crowd, was “ready to rumble.”
“I will tell you this speech tonight will be classic Donald J. Trump. It’ll be funny. It’ll be entertaining,” Leavitt, who is preparing to go on maternity leave, said.
“There will be some shots fired tonight.”
“Everyone should tune in. It’s going to be really great.”
Trump had been seated at the dais alongside Melania and CBS reporter and White House Correspondents’ Association President Weijia Jiang when the incident unfolded minutes later.
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement that an individual in connection with the “shooting incident” near the main screening area at the WHCD had been apprehended.
“The president and first lady are safe along with all protectees,” he said. “The condition of those involved is not yet known, and law enforcement is actively assessing the situation.”
The president said he was ready to continue the evening in a Truth Social post.
“Quite an evening in D.C. Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted quickly and bravely. The shooter has been apprehended, and I have recommended that we ‘LET THE SHOW GO ON’ but, will entirely be guided by Law Enforcement. They will make a decision shortly,” he wrote.
“Regardless of that decision, the evening will be much different than planned, and we’ll just, plain, have to do it again.”
As of 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, the president was heading back to the White House, The New York Times reported.
In addition to Trump and Leavitt, key officials present at the annual event included Vice President JD Vance, Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, among others.
Jiang, the president of the Correspondents’ Association, said the president would reschedule the event within 30 days, NPR reported.
The White House and the WHCA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This isn’t the first time Trump has been evacuated after gunfire. It is less than two years since he was whisked away from a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a bullet grazed his ear. One rallygoer was killed and two others were critically injured.
