US President Donald Trump said Sunday that First Lady Melania Trump “handled it great" after shots were fired at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night.
He also noted that she was not present during two assassination attempts against him in 2024, one in Butler, Pennsylvania, and another in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“I’ve been through this before a couple of times. And she has not to this extent," Trump said in an interview with CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell on “60 Minutes."
He described the First Lady as “very strong, smart," adding, “She got it. She knew what was happening. She listened."
Trump also addressed the suspected gunman’s movements and the response by law enforcement, saying officers reacted immediately.
“When you look at it on tape, it’s almost like a blur," he said.
“But it was amazing because as soon as they (law enforcement) saw that, you could see them draw their guns. They were so professional, aimed their guns, and then they took him down immediately."
The president said the suspect ran approximately 45 yards, quipping that the “NFL should sign him up."
“Some of these people, they may be crazy, but they’re not stupid, and they figure things out," he said.
Trump also called for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to be rescheduled within 30 days, with increased security measures.
“I hope we’re going to do it again," he told “60 Minutes", adding, “We should do it within 30 days, and they’ll have even more security, and they’ll have bigger perimeter security."
During the interview, tensions rose when O’Donnell read excerpts from writings attributed to the suspected gunman. Trump responded sharply and accused the journalist of being a “disgrace."
The excerpt read by O’Donnell did not mention Trump by name, but included: “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes."
Trump rejected the characterization outright.
“I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody. Excuse me, I’m not a pedophile," he said. “You read that c**p from some sick person I got associated with, stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated."
He later added that O’Donnell “should be ashamed" of herself. “You shouldn’t be reading that on ‘60 Minutes,’ you’re a disgrace," he said.
Trump also addressed broader concerns about political violence in the United States, arguing it is not necessarily worse today than in previous eras.
However, he placed blame on Democratic rhetoric, saying it contributes to a dangerous atmosphere.
“I do think that the hate speech of the Democrats much more so is very dangerous. I really think it’s very dangerous for the country," Trump said.
He also accused the press of aligning politically with Democrats when asked whether the incident would change his relationship with media outlets.
“Well, look, for whatever reason, we disagree on a lot of subjects. We talk about crime. I’m very strong on crime. It seems like the press isn’t," he said, adding, “It’s not so much the press. It’s the press plus the Democrats, because they’re almost one in the same. It’s like the craziest thing."
Later in the interview, Trump reiterated that view, saying the press is largely “very liberal or very progressive," while acknowledging that “there are great people in the press."
Despite his criticism, Trump said it was “really bad for a crazy person to be able to cancel something like this," referring to the interruption of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
He added that he did not want the event canceled and expressed satisfaction with the atmosphere following the incident.
“I was really happy to see the … I don’t know how long it’ll last - the relationship, the friendship, the spirit after a very bad event took place," he said. “Now, the event turned out to be much less bad because nobody was killed."