Mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was hosting the White House Correspondents' Dinner, has disclosed the trick he was showing First Lady Melania Trump on his notepad just before gunfire erupted at the event. The 41-year-old performer revealed that he had guessed the name of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's unborn child only moments before shots rang out on Saturday evening.
'The night was going very, very well. I was warming up the crowd, the [Vice President] was loving my show, and I was speaking to the press secretary,' Pearlman told USA Today. 'The challenge was to figure out the name of [Leavitt's] unborn daughter.'
The trick involved Pearlman asking Leavitt to think of a name before he showed the notepad, where he had written down the name she had chosen for her daughter, Viviane. Leavitt, who is expected to give birth within days, later confirmed to Pearlman that he had guessed correctly.
'I never would have shared this with the world, the point is not to "gotcha" her. But I spoke to her and she said it's okay to share,' he said. 'This is a moment in history, she told me. When it happened, she said, "I don't know how the hell you guessed my daughter's name."'
However, no sooner had he revealed his impressive trick than gunfire erupted, causing the crowd to cower under tables as Secret Service agents sprang into action. Pearlman found himself lying on the floor.
'The timing was insane,' Pearlman continued. 'Right as I did the reveal, that's exactly the moment things went down in the room.' He recalled seeing the peak reaction to his trick turn instantly to shock and distress.
As he lay on the ground, he turned and saw the president within reach. He told CNN that his thoughts were, 'Oh no, are we about to die?' 'Seeing his face a foot away - I'll never forget that,' he said. 'It's a photo in my mind forever.'
Guests had barely started their appetizers when Secret Service agents swarmed the Washington Hilton ballroom following a series of 'loud noises.' The ballroom was filled with top journalists, Hollywood celebrities, and Cabinet members including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The suspect, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, exchanged fire with Secret Service agents before being tackled and arrested. One agent was struck in his bulletproof vest and is expected to recover. No one else was harmed.
Pearlman noted that security at the event seemed less restrictive than at other red carpet events he had attended. 'I can't speak to what was or wasn't done. But I did find there was ease of movement. I was not restricted at the same level of other events. Usually there is checkpoint after checkpoint,' he said.
While he had noted no specific red flags, he said he saw 'makeup and hair people coming in an hour before.' 'Hindsight is always 20/20. I didn't feel endangered, but there was not the rigorous checks I've been put through at other red carpets like the Golden Globes where there have been three to four checkpoints, scanned bar codes, not just paper tickets.'
Nevertheless, Pearlman praised the Secret Service's rapid response. 'The Secret Service moved so incredibly fast; anyone who says it was a failure, that's ridiculous. It was a success and no one died.'
The entertainer also addressed online jokes about why, as a mentalist, he didn't foresee the incident. 'I've seen the memes, the jokes write themselves. I would be haunted forever that I, as a mentalist, didn't see that coming,' he said. 'One, I am not a psychic, I wish I were. Two, my job is not to assess security threats. I entertain and create memorable events.'
Pearlman described the event as 'bittersweet.' 'When you experience something like this, which is surreal when it happens, it feels like you're in some sort of a movie. You have the awareness that I'm okay and my wife is okay, and the president, of course.' He initially thought it was a bomb threat, not an active shooter.
The dinner is set to be rescheduled within the next 30 days, as announced by the president. Pearlman said, 'I don't know if I can do the exact same show; I think it will be similar, but not same. It would have to take a different note.' He added, 'Terrorist or assassins who believe that violence is the answer, we have to show they can't win. Are we not going to have events? Are we not going to have football games? No, you have to live your life.'
Shortly after the shooting, Pearlman posted on Instagram that he was safe. He later wrote that returning home and hugging his children 'never felt as good.'
President Trump addressed the nation two hours after the incident, saying, 'When you're impactful, they go after you. They seem to think he was a lone wolf. We're not going to let anybody take over our society.'
Authorities discovered that Allen wrote a chilling manifesto before arriving at the Washington Hilton, the same hotel where President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.
