Mentalist Oz Pearlman has recounted the harrowing moment he and President Donald Trump locked eyes while crouching on the ballroom floor after a shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. The incident, which occurred on Saturday evening at the Washington Hilton, sent the room into chaos as Secret Service agents rushed to secure the president.
Shared Glance Amid Chaos
Pearlman, who was performing a pre-show trick for Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, First Lady Melania Trump, and the president, described the brief but intense exchange. "I'll never forget the image for my whole life," he told CNN. "We just look at each other for about two seconds, and my mind, obviously, this is like a huge adrenaline [rush], is just like, 'Oh no, are we about to die?'"
The mentalist was in the middle of his act when Secret Service agents began rushing through the ballroom towards the president, whom they tackled to the ground. Security later detained suspect Cole Tomas Allen, 31, who never breached the ballroom itself. However, inside the event, journalists and politicians remained unsure of what was happening for anxious minutes as heavily armed agents swarmed the room.
Fear of a Bomb
Pearlman initially did not hear any gunshots, leading him to believe agents might be protecting the president from a bomb. "The expression on his face didn't show whether there was pain or what was going on," he said. "It was near-impossible to read his face," he added, worrying that agents tackling the president might have harmed him. "I couldn't tell if he had been injured or hurt."
After the president was whisked away, confusion persisted. Pearlman and other guests army-crawled away from the stage, fearing they might be targeted. Rumors spread that shots had been fired and someone had been killed. "It was pure fear in everybody's eyes," Pearlman told The New York Times. "I thought, standing up I might get shot."
Backstage Calm
Within five to ten minutes, Pearlman began to feel less in immediate danger. He encountered Vice President JD Vance, who was "very calm" and "very assuring," he told CNN. Security apprehended Allen alive. The suspect allegedly shot and injured a security agent, who was protected by a bulletproof vest, according to the president.
Investigators continue to search for a motive. The suspect reportedly sent a manifesto critical of President Trump to his family before the shooting, referring to himself as "Cole 'coldForce' 'Friendly Federal Assassin' Allen," according to The New York Post. Allen, a teacher from Torrance, California, will be arraigned on Monday in federal court. President Trump has called on organizers to hold another Correspondents' Dinner soon.
