The White House is holding an important press briefing today, on Monday. Karoline Leavitt began the briefing with comments on the investigation into the shooting at the White House press dinner.
White House press briefing today
Karoline Leavitt said she had not planned to hold another briefing before going on maternity leave. But Saturday night’s events led to a change.
She said the president wants to thank all security personnel. These include the agent whose bulletproof vest was hit during the incident.
Leavitt added that Trump had wanted the dinner to continue despite the situation.
She also described the incident as the third “major assassination attempt” on Trump in the past two years.
“Nobody in recent years has faced more bullets and more violence than President Trump,” she stated.
Leavitt said that this kind of “political violence stems from a systemic demonisation of him and his supporters by commentators, yes, by elected members of the Democrat Party and even some in the media”.
She also mentioned late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel, talking about a joke in which he called Melania Trump an ‘expectant widow’ just days before the shooting incident.
Melania Trump has urged ABC, Kimmel’s broadcaster, to take action against what she described as his “atrocious behaviour.”
“Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel had said.
Leavitt said the shooting shows how important it is for Congress to approve funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service.
“This is a national emergency, and every member of Congress needs to put their country over party and get the Department of Homeland Security funded,” she said.
“The White House ballroom project is not just a fun project for President Trump like you will read in the media,” she said. “It is actually critical for our national security.”
Talking about the Iran-US situation, she said that talks on Iran’s proposal are still underway.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt previously announced that she will hold a press conference at 13:00 ET (18:00 BST).
Shooting at White House correspondents’ dinner
Previously, on Saturday night in Washington, firing sounds were heard during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
President of the United States (US) Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other senior officials were present at the event.
The shots were reportedly fired near the stairs leading down to the ballroom where the officials were sitting, reports state.
A 31-year-old man who has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen was arrested at the scene. He was carrying a shotgun, a handgun, and knives, according to the reports.
President Trump later said that he and the First Lady are safe. He called it a “very sad evening in many ways.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association hosts the annual dinner. The purpose of the dinner is to promote a free press and raise scholarship funds for journalism students.
The inaugural dinner was in May 1921. However, it wasn’t until 1924 that Calvin Coolidge became the first US president to attend the event.
Since then, it has become somewhat of a tradition in Washington as a time for the usually ‘stressed’ press corps to relax, poke fun at politicians, and also be made fun of.
This year’s dinner was Trump’s debut appearance as president. He didn’t attend any of the dinners during his first presidency. But he previously attended some dinners as a private citizen.
