US President Donald Trump used a lone gunman's storming of the lobby outside the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night to promote his $400 million White House ballroom project, which is riddled with glaring conflicts of interest.
Speaking at a press conference after being evacuated from the Washington Hilton hotel hosting the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Trump declared that "this is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we're planning at the White House."
The president added that "we need the ballroom," saying, "We need levels of security that probably nobody's ever seen before.".
President Trump says tonight’s shooting at the WHCD is a clear example of why we need a need a new ballroom for The White House pic.twitter.com/a6dzeH9nyB. — Acyn (@Acyn) April 26, 2026.
A man armed with multiple weapons, including a shotgun, charged a security checkpoint outside the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night, setting off a chaotic scramble to evacuate Trump and members of his administration who were present at the private event.
CBS News White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs noted on social media that the shooting "happened on the level above the ballroom where the White House Correspondents Association dinner was.".
The White House ballroom project that Trump touted at his press conference after being evacuated from the correspondents' dinner has received funding from massive corporations with interests before the federal government. »