Summary:
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President Trump berated CBS News correspondent Norah O’Donnell during a “60 Minutes” interview after she read from a manifesto.
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The interview turned heated after O’Donnell quoted from the document the suspect allegedly sent to his family.
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The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, charged a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton.
President Donald Trump berated CBS News correspondent Norah O’Donnell during a “60 Minutes” interview Sunday night after she read excerpts from the alleged manifesto of the gunman who opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner the night before.
The interview, taped less than 24 hours after the Saturday evening shooting at the Washington Hilton, turned heated when O’Donnell quoted from a document the suspect, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, allegedly sent to his family minutes before the attack, according to the transcript published by CBS News.
O’Donnell read a passage in which Allen referred to a target as a “pedophile, rapist, and traitor,” then asked the president for his reaction.
Trump pushed back, denying he was any of those things and accusing the network of bias. When O’Donnell asked whether the president believed the suspect was referring to him, Trump pivoted to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, denying any wrongdoing tied to that relationship and suggesting Democrats had closer ties to Epstein than he did.
The president then called O’Donnell a “disgrace” for reading the manifesto on air before telling her to continue with the interview, per the CBS News transcript.
The exchange came one night after a gunman charged a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton, where Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Cabinet members and roughly 2,500 guests had gathered for the annual black-tie press dinner, CBS News reported.
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Allen, a part-time teacher and engineer from Torrance, California, was armed with a shotgun, handgun, and knives when he ran through metal detectors and toward the ballroom, according to NBC News. He fired at least one round that struck a Secret Service agent, who was protected by a bulletproof vest and is expected to recover.
The president and other officials were evacuated, and no attendees were seriously injured.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told CNN the suspect was subdued after a brief exchange of gunfire. Allen has been charged with two counts of using a firearm and one count of assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, according to US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro. He is set to be arraigned Monday in federal court in Washington.
About 10 minutes before the attack, Allen sent his writings to family members, NBC News reported. His brother in Connecticut alerted the New London Police Department, though officials told CNN the timeline of that call is still being clarified.
The document, which multiple outlets have described as a manifesto, identified Trump administration officials as targets and included an apology to people Allen considered bystanders, according to CNN. It also contained the passages O’Donnell quoted on air.
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Trump told Fox News on Sunday that Allen had been “radicalized” and held anti-Christian views. Federal investigators are still working to determine a full motive.
