Today in Focus
‘Sense of disbelief’: how White House press dinner attack unfolded – The Latest
27 Apr 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What happened during the White House Correspondents Gala?
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The biggest thing I remember was just being utterly confused and that sense of commotion. Trump, seizing this moment for his own political advantage, turned this into an advert for his $400 million ballroom at the White House.
I didn't want to say this, but this is why we have to have The ballroom, that's why Secret Service, that's why the military are demanding it.
What journalists experienced on Saturday nights is frankly what millions of Americans have in town halls, in churches, even in schools. Political violence does remain in America a real characteristic of the Trump era.
The shooting at the White House Correspondents Gala in Washington over the weekend has raised serious questions about how the suspect was able to get so close to the president. We speak to our reporter who was there. From The Guardian's Today In Focus, this is The Latest with me, Lucy Hoth. Well, dialing in is David Smith, our Washington Bureau Chief. David, thanks for joining us.
You were at the White House Correspondents Association dinner on Saturday in Washington. Let's start by, can you just describe how it all unfolded and what it was like for you being in that room?
Yeah, it's great to be here. This is an annual dinner I've attended many times, and the evening began very normally. Guests in tuxedos and ball gowns filing into this subterranean ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Of course, what was different this year was Donald Trump was attending as president for the first time. He saluted during the National Anthem took his seat.
And for about 30 to 40 minutes, we were just making small talk, eating salad, drinking wine. And then suddenly I heard some loud bangs towards the back of the ballroom. No idea what it was, as Trump himself said later. It could have been plates clattering. I turned, saw guests diving for cover under tables.
And that sort of moved like a wave through the room and thought, well, maybe I had better do the same.
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Chapter 2: How did the attendees react to the shooting incident?
Has there been any kind of serious response to the White House in response to this? Obviously, political violence is something that's always occurred in America, but it does feel particularly febrile at the moment.
That's right. And Trump himself was asked about this at the Saturday press conference and more or less shrugged it off. And the kind of air resignation indicated is the price of doing business these days that as a politician, you'll be a target. Certainly some politicians on Sunday pushed back against that and said, you know, this is no way to live with these twin demons of politics.
rising political violence and yes, the gun violence epidemic. I think some in the room made the good point that what journalists experienced on Saturday night is frankly what millions of Americans have in town halls, in churches, even in schools, tragically. And of course, we had the benefit of the protection of the Secret Service in what was arguably the safest room in America.
But sadly, I don't think there will be a particular political reckoning over this, over gun violence or political violence. But it does remain a scourge in America, a real characteristic of the Trump era.
Well, David, thank you. Thank you for your reporting and stay safe after a very troubling weekend.
Thank you.
That's it for today. My huge thanks to David Smith, our Washington bureau chief. Do read his reporting over at theguardian.com, as well as our live blog on this story. And do listen to our sister podcast, Politics Weekly, where Pippa Crear and Kieran Stacey will be discussing the many headaches facing Keir Starmer and reports that Labour MPs are plotting to get rid of him.
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Latest. Today on Focus, we'll be back on your fees as usual tomorrow morning. The Latest will be back tomorrow night. This episode was presented by me, Lucy Hoff. It was produced by Bryony Moore. The senior producer was Ryan Ramgobin and the lead producer was Zoe Hitch.
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