At Saturday night's White House Correspondents' Dinner, around 2,600 plates of prime chateaubriand and Maine lobster were prepared but never served after a gunman rushed a Secret Service checkpoint, plunging the event into chaos.
Chaos Unfolds
Attendees, including Daily Mail staff, had only finished the salad course—featuring spring peas, burrata cheese, toasted pistachios, and aged balsamic vinaigrette—when gunfire was heard through the Washington Hilton's basement-level ballroom. Guests ducked and crawled under tables as President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Cabinet members were swiftly moved to a safer location.
Although Trump insisted the show go on, it did not. White House Correspondents' Association President Weijia Jiang returned to the podium after sheltering in place to address the thousands of attendees still in the ballroom. 'He wanted to continue, despite the news, but has to follow security protocol,' she said, also announcing a late-night briefing at the White House.
Food and Drink Left Behind
That meant all the entrees—and a 'Grand Opera Cake' dessert—went unserved. So what happened to the leftovers? A Hilton spokesperson told the Daily Mail that 'the hotel regularly donates unused food from events to support local organizations and their work in the community.' The spokesperson added, 'Food from this weekend is being donated to our local community partners, and remaining produce items were composted and will be sent to farms for agricultural use.' Washingtonian magazine first reported the fate of the surf and turf.
Some leftover wine ended up in journalists' hands, with one video of a bottle heist going viral.
Ticket Prices and Tradition
The cost of a dinner ticket this year was $480 per seat or $4,800 for a table of ten, available only to members of the White House Correspondents' Association, a nonprofit that supports journalists covering the White House. The association also partners with universities to provide scholarships to aspiring journalists attending the black-tie dinner. The President is invited each year; Trump snubbed the dinner during his first term, and it was canceled during his final year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
His appearance at this year's dinner marked the first time he attended as commander-in-chief. Back at the White House, Trump asked the WHCA to reschedule the dinner. 'We'll do it again in the next 30 days. And we'll make it bigger and better and even nicer,' Trump said from the briefing room podium. He also pushed for the construction of his White House ballroom, currently in legal limbo—though the WHCD would likely never be held there, as it is organized by the press, not the President.
