Donald Trump vented that Secret Service agents evacuatedJD Vancefaster than him during the shooting at theWhite House Correspondents’ Association dinnerlast month.
Speaking at a Police Week event in the Rose Garden on Monday, Trump recounted thechaotic moments after gunfire eruptedoutside the ballroom of the Washington Hilton on April 25, sending attendees scrambling at one of the capital’sglitziest black-tie gatherings.
“They had great professional people, and they came out within seconds,” Trump told the crowd, referring to the agents who rushed the stage and ushered Trump and Vance to safety.
“I saw them take JD by the shoulders and lift him up like he was a little boy,” the 79-year-old president continued. “I said ‘how come they didn’t lift me up so fast?’ They lifted JD — got ripped out of the chair. That was a view of the week, but they did the job, JD, right? I think so.”
Video of the incident shows a Secret Service agent sprinting toward Vance, who was seated behind the main table, grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him backward. The vice president quickly bolted off stage, flanked by additional agents. Trump, meanwhile,remained seated a few feet away. Agents then helped him out of his chair and escorted him off the stage, though he appeared to briefly lose his footing and fall forward on to the stage.
In an interview with CBS News the following day, Trump said the delay was partly his own doing. “I wanted to see what was happening … I probably made them act a little more slowly,” he told Norah O’Donnell.
He also said he did not fall, but that agents instructed him to lower himself to the ground.
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“I was walking out…about halfway there, they said ‘please go down to the floor,’” Trump said.
Cole Allen, the 31-year-old suspect, was subdued by law enforcement shortly after he opened fire with a long gun at a security checkpoint near the ballroom, officials said. He shot and injured one Secret Service agent, who Trump said was protected by a bulletproof vest.
Allen, a California engineer, was charged withattempting to assassinate the presidentand discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, among other charges. During his arraignment in federal court on Monday, he pleaded not guilty.
Investigators believe he may have acted as a result of “political grievances,” including related to the war in Iran,The Independentpreviously reported.
Allen reportedly senta lengthy manifestoto his family before opening fire in the Washington hotel, according toThe New York Post. He allegedly wrote: “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”
When O’Donnell asked about the alleged manifesto, the president bristled, saying, “I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would, because you’re horrible people.” He then dismissed the writings as “crap” from a “sick person.”
Last month’s shooting was among several assassination attempts the president has survived.
This week a survey by YouGov found thatalmost a quarter of Americans think the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was staged, although there has been no evidence to suggest that it was.