White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting after previously predicting that there would be “shots fired” at the event.
On Sunday, April 26, Leavitt, 28, shared her thoughts on Instagram regarding the shooting that led to the evacuation of her, President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and other officials from the Washington Hilton ballroom the previous evening.
In her Instagram post, Leavitt wrote, “What was meant to be an enjoyable evening with President Trump delivering jokes and celebrating free speech was disrupted by a deranged anti-Trump individual aiming to assassinate the President and harm as many senior Trump administration officials as possible.”
Shortly before the shots were fired at the gala, Leavitt, who is expecting her second child with her husband Nicholas Riccio, mentioned to Fox News on the red carpet that President Trump, 79, would be giving a “funny” and “entertaining” speech and predicted that there “will be some shots fired tonight in the room.”
Leavitt’s post, featuring a series of photos taken before, during, and after the dinner evacuation, continued, “I was backstage with President Trump and the First Lady after we were rapidly moved to safety by Secret Service. President Trump displayed remarkable courage, but as he mentioned last night, this political violence must stop.”
The post, showing Leavitt beside Vice President JD Vance in the White House Oval Office, concluded with gratitude: “Thank you to law enforcement for ensuring our safety, including the brave agent who took a bullet to the chest and swiftly neutralized the shooter. Pray for our nation.”
Washington D.C. law enforcement confirmed that a 31-year-old Californian man was arrested following the shooting on Saturday, April 25. He faces charges of two counts of using a firearm and one count of assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon. The suspect’s motivations and condition remain unclear.
Whitney Leavitt is breaking her silence in the wake of fellow The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives cast member Taylor Frankie Paul’s most recent domestic dispute. “I have a lot of emotions about it and I’m still processing everything that’s happening, but the safety of human beings, especially children, comes first,” Whitney told Interview Magazine […]
A Secret Service member was injured during the incident near the venue’s “main magnetometer,” according to the Secret Service. Trump later confirmed the agent was recovering in the hospital.
“The vest did its job. I just spoke to the officer and he’s doing great,” Trump told reporters following the incident.
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner marked a temporary farewell for Leavitt as she prepares to give birth to her second child in the coming days. (Leavitt and Riccio, 60, are also parents to their son Nico, born in July 2024.)
In the wake of the shooting, Leavitt confirmed through an X post that Trump scheduled a press conference late Saturday night. Her Instagram post included a photo from the conference, showing her standing next to the lectern as Trump spoke.
