U.S. President Donald Trump appeared on 60 Minutes Sunday night to discuss the events hours earlier at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. A gunman stormed the security perimeter at the venue and charged toward the ballroom where the president, the first lady, the vice president, Cabinet members and more than 2,500 guests were gathered to celebrate the First Amendment and freedom of the press.
Trump Reacts to Manifesto on Air
Things quickly went south when CBS News correspondent Norah O'Donnell read parts of shooting suspect Cole Allen's alleged manifesto on air. Soon after O'Donnell quoted Allen directly, saying, 'I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,' Trump went on the offensive.
'Well, I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would because you're horrible people,' Trump told O'Donnell after he was asked for his reaction. 'Horrible people. Yeah, he did write that. I'm not a rapist. I didn't rape anybody.' O'Donnell didn't back down and asked, 'Do you think he was referring to you?' Trump replied: 'I'm not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person? I got associated with all … stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated.'
Trump Criticizes Media Coverage
The president continued: 'Your friends on the other side of the plate are the ones that were involved with, let's say, [Jeffrey] Epstein or other things. But I said to myself, 'You know, I'll do this interview and they'll probably…' I read the manifesto. You know, he's a sick person. But you should be ashamed of yourself reading that because I'm not any of those things.' O'Donnell tried to tell Trump she was simply quoting the gunman's alleged words, but Trump wasn't having it. 'You shouldn't be reading that on 60 Minutes. You're a disgrace. But go ahead. Let's finish the interview… you're disgraceful,' he said.
Shooter's Motive Under Investigation
The White House Correspondents' Dinner was held at the Washington Hilton, the same hotel where President Ronald Reagan was nearly assassinated by John Hinckley 45 years ago. When questioned about Allen's motive and whether political violence is something he, as a president, can do to stop it, Trump noted that kind of violence has been happening for years. 'People are assassinated. People are injured. People are hurt. And I'm not sure that it's any more now than there was,' he explained before taking aim at his political rivals. 'I do think that the hate speech of the Democrats, much more so, is — is very dangerous. I really think it's very dangerous for the country.'
Who Is the Gunman?
Federal investigators are looking into the motive of the alleged gunman, a 31-year-old teacher from Torrance, Calif. He emailed the purported manifesto to his family shortly before the attack, allegedly referring to himself as the 'Friendly Federal Assassin' who was targeting officials in the Trump administration. Allen's LinkedIn profile said he earned a bachelor's degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, The Associated Press reported. In 2025, he earned a master of Science degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills, NBC News reported. He does not have a criminal record and is described as a 'borderline genius' by a former high school volleyball teammate who spoke with NBC News.
During his 60 Minutes appearance, Trump described the shooter as 'pretty incompetent,' adding, 'He got caught pretty easily,' before hailing law enforcement's swift response. 'Those guys did a good job last night,' he said of the Secret Service agents' reaction to the shooter. 'They did a really good job.'
