White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt he promised that the President will be shot Donald Trump's White House Correspondents' Dinner speech minutes before the actual shots fired at the rally.
“[Trump] ready to be famous,” Leavitt, 28, told Fox News on the red carpet at the Washington Hilton on Saturday, April 25. “I'll tell you, this speech tonight is going to be classic Donald J. Trump.”
He then announced, “[The speech] it will be funny. It will be fun. A gun will be fired tonight in the room.”
Leavitt – who is pregnant – was taken out of the Washington Hilton ballroom later together with Donald, 79, the first wife. Melania Trump and other administration officials when gunfire erupted near the site's “main magnetometer,” according to the Secret Service.
Law enforcement officials in Washington DC confirmed that a 31-year-old California man was arrested during the shooting and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and one count of assault on a public official with a deadly weapon. (The motives and circumstances of the suspect are still unknown.)
A Secret Service agent was shot during the altercation. The president later confirmed in a press conference that the injured agent is recovering in hospital.
“The vest did its job. I just talked to the police officer and it's working well,” he told reporters.
The White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday was supposed to be a temporary farewell for Leavitt as she is expected to give birth to her second child soon. (Leavitt and her husband, Nicholas Riccioand share a son, Niko, born in July 2024.)
“This will be my last game for a long time,” he told reporters on Friday, April 24. “As you can see, I'm ready to have a baby any minute, so I'll see you soon.”
Caroline Leavitt listens to US President Donald Trump's press conference.
Getty Images/Kent NISHIMURA / AFPHe added, “I know you will be in good hands with my team here at the White House. And I know you all have the president's phone numbers, so I have no doubt you will have no shortage of statements and news from this building while I'm gone.”
However, Leavitt was abruptly reinstated following the shooting at the White House Correspondents' dinner as he personally confirmed that Trump planned to hold a press conference on Saturday night.
During his remarks, Trump said he was “honored to be a victim” despite several attempts on his life over the past few years. (Trump survived being shot in the ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. Another suspect in the shooting was arrested at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September 2024.)
ANGELA WEISS / AFP Ivanka Trump remembers how she received the news that her father, President Donald Trump, was shot in the ear during an assassination attempt in July 2024. Trump, 79, survived the shooting at an open rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, while campaigning for a second term as president. I […]
“If you look at our great presidents, [this] it doesn't happen to people who don't do anything,” said Trump.
The star-studded guest list for the White House Correspondents' dinner includes Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirkher late husband, a conservative activist Charlie Kirkwas shot and killed at the age of 31 in September 2025. CNN reported that he was seen crying and telling aides that he “just wanted[ed] walking” following the shooting.
