A former Trump administration official who was inside the ballroom at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) Dinner on Saturday has described President Donald Trump’s reaction after Secret Service agents rushed him and First Lady Melania Trump off the stage when shots rang out at the Washington Hilton.
Harrison Fields, who served as deputy press secretary during Trump’s first term, was an eyewitness to the situation unfolding as the shooter, Cole Allen, attempted to gain entry to the dinner.
Allen allegedly rushed a Secret Service checkpoint while armed, leading to an exchange of gunfire.
President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other officials were safely evacuated.
In an interview on Fox & Friends Weekend on Sunday, Fields recounted what happened in the moments after the president was rushed from the stage.
Fields said Secret Service agents quickly formed a human shield around Trump and the First Lady as they were moved to safety. It took more than a minute for those on stage to fully realize the danger amid the confusion and noise.
Once the immediate threat was neutralized, Fields said, President Trump wanted to return to the stage.
“When we heard he wanted to come back out, we all kind of chuckled and said, ‘Of course he does, because that’s exactly who he is,’” Fields explained.
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Fields praised Trump’s leadership in the moment, saying the president provided “transparency,” “clarity,” and “reassurance” to everyone present and refused to let fear dictate the response.
Fields also criticized the security situation at the hotel where the event took place.
WATCH:
Former Trump administration official Harrison Fields said there was a VIP reception just off the main ballroom where Cabinet secretaries were gathered—and where the president could have been—without a clear security presence leading up to it, adding that while the Secret Service… pic.twitter.com/MpEtDDt6zf
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 26, 2026
“There was not a security apparatus leading up to that point,” Fields added, noting the lack of internal checkpoints or buffer zone leading into the main ballroom and VIP areas where cabinet secretaries and senior officials were gathered. “There was no real buffer.”
Allen faces federal charges, including assault on a federal officer and use of a firearm during a crime of violence.
He had checked into the hotel the day before after traveling by train from Los Angeles.
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, a manifesto sent to relatives, and since made public, Allen admitted to targeting Trump administration officials.
Over 250 Journalists Sign Letter Demanding ‘Forceful’ Protest Against Trump at White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Allen was also active on Bluesky under the handle “coldForce,” with eye emojis replacing the “o”s. He frequently complained about the president, Vice President JD Vance, and other liberal issues.
“I’m mostly suprised by this administration’s incompetence in fascism, I was expecting actual fighting to have started much earlier,” Allen wrote in one of his posts.
The post WATCH: Eyewitness Describes Trump’s Reaction and Demeanor After Being Rushed to Safety During WHCD Shooting, and Lack of a Security Apparatus appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.