Tamara Keith

Some of these unique security features were added after President Reagan was shot outside of the hotel in 1981.

When the president attends the WHCA dinner, the Secret Service actually takes over the security.

Everyone going into the ballroom has to show a ticket and go through airport security-style screening.

But this is still a busy hotel with regular guests, and there are always risks when the president is out in public.

There's been this mix of trying to deliver a unifying message, even praising the press, which is off brand.

And he then put a very Trumpian spin on the fact that he's been targeted repeatedly.

This is from a phone interview Sunday morning with Fox News.

He also used the moment to make multiple pitches for his White House ballroom project.

And by Sunday evening, he was back to attacking the press and blaming the rhetoric of Democrats for political violence.

Yeah, this all came at the end of a bad week for the president politically, with his approval ratings at their lowest ever and the Iran war dragging on in a sort of suspended animation.

So this does at least temporarily move the focus away from all that.

But this incident also feeds the unease I hear from voters about how chaotic and divided the country feels now.

You're welcome.

In the hours after the dinner, Trump hit a note of unity.

Then Sunday, in an interview with 60 Minutes, he was asked about political violence in America and what he as president can do to change the trajectory in the country.

Of the alleged attacker, Trump said he was radicalized and, quote, probably a pretty sick guy.

Tamara Keith, NPR News.

The White House Correspondents Association dinner was just beginning with the president and the vice president up on stage.

Then we heard a burst of what sounded like gunfire.

It did not sound like it was in the room.