Trump Reacts to WHCD Shooter's Identity & Motive

Well, thank you very much. That was very unexpected, but incredibly acted upon by Secret Service and law enforcement. And this was an event dedicated to freedom of speech that was supposed to bring together members of both parties with members of the press. And in a certain way, it did, because the fact that they just unified. I saw a room that was just totally unified. It was, in one way, very beautiful. A very beautiful thing to see. A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service. And they acted very quickly. And I've just released, for purposes of transparency, clarity, I've ordered it to be put out. You probably have it by now. Put out on truth and put out on many of the platforms. A tape showing the violence of this thug that attacked our Constitution, and also showing how quickly Secret Service and law enforcement acted on our country's behalf. Really did a great job. One officer was shot, but saved by the fact that he was wearing, obviously, a very good bulletproof vest. He was shot from very close distance with a very powerful gun. And the vest did the job. I just spoke to the officer, and he's doing great. He's in great shape. He has very high spirits. And we told him we love him and respect him. And he's a very proud guy. He's very proud of what he does, Secret Service agent. And we looked at all of the conditions that took place tonight, and I will say, you know, it's not a particularly secure building. And I didn't want to say this, but this is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we're planning at the White House. It's actually a larger room, and it's much more secure. It's got — it's drone-proof. It's bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom. That's why Secret Service — that's why the military are demanding it. They've wanted the ballroom for 150 years for lots of different reasons. But today is a little bit different because today we need levels of security that probably nobody has ever seen before. But everyone owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to the courage of law enforcement. The law enforcement and working with the D.C. police — and we just spoke with the mayor. And when we're finished, the police chief is going to take over and discuss it also from their viewpoint. But they also performed exactly as they were supposed to. And you see the attacker in different positions, but you also see the attacker totally subdued and under control. So, as you know, this is not the first time in the past couple of years that our Republicans have been attacked by a would-be assassin who sought to kill in Butler, Pennsylvania, less than two years ago. You all know that story. And in Palm Beach, Florida, a few months after that, we came close. We really had — again, we had some great work done by law enforcement. But in light of this evening's events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our difference peacefully. We have to — we have to resolve our differences. I will say, you had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals, and progressives. Those words are interchangeable, perhaps, but maybe they're not. But you had everybody in that room. Big crowd. Record-setting crowd. There was a record-setting group of people. And there was a tremendous amount of love and coming together. I watched — I watched, and I was very, very impressed by that. But we were — the First Lady and I were taken very well care of, very quickly — very quickly rushed off the stage. Vice President J.D. Vance, who's here, was likewise beautifully done. I was — he was just saying how quickly everybody acted. Law enforcement, Secret Service, in particular, in this case. But law enforcement. Marco had the same thing. Pete was there. Pete didn't want any help. He didn't want anybody to help him. He doesn't want anybody to help him, but he did get some, didn't you? And I think you also said that it was very impressive. So, with that, I'd like to ask Todd Blanch to come up, say a few words, and tell you it's already underway. The man is — has been captured. They've — they're going to his apartment. I guess he lives in California. And he's a sick person, a very sick person. And we don't want things like this to happen. I think it's very important that I say, though — and I told the representatives of the evening, and they did such a beautiful job. It was such a beautiful evening. And again, they're talking about free speech in our Constitution. That's what it's all about, not just White House correspondents. It's really — it was really based on free speech in our Constitution. But I said, very importantly, that we'll do it again within the next 30 days. And we'll make it bigger and better and even nicer. So I just want to thank everybody that was involved. I also want to thank the press, the media. You've been very responsible in your coverage, I will say. I've been seeing what's been out. You've been very responsible. So, Todd Blanch, I'd like to say a few words. I know we're going to have cash. And then you're going to go on. We can ask — I guess we can take a couple of questions. I want to thank the First Lady for — that was a rather traumatic experience for her. There was a lot of action taking place up there very quickly. But again, the response time was really incredible. And we're going to reschedule. We're going to do it again. We're not going to let anybody take over our society. We're not going to cancel things out because we can't do that. We wanted to stay tonight. I will tell you, I fought like hell to stay. But they — it was protocol. They said, please, sir, because they didn't know a lot of — there was a lot of action going on. And they didn't know, could there be probably a lone shooter. But we'll find out. We'll find out very quickly. They have it very well under control. So I want to thank everybody very much. And, Todd Blanch, please. Thank you very much, Mr. President. Tonight, you saw the very worst and the very best of this country. You saw the very worst by the actions of that coward that the President just talked about. But you also saw the very best because you saw law enforcement do exactly what they're supposed to do. And you'll see the videos come out, I expect, very shortly. And you'll see law enforcement do exactly what we want them to do. And so I echo what Mr. President — what President Trump just said, that we are extraordinarily grateful and appreciative of the men and women of law enforcement that did their jobs tonight, including one who was — who was injured. This investigation is ongoing. I expect you will see charges filed shortly. The charges should be self-evident, given the conduct. But as you'll hear, there will be multiple charges around the shooting, around the possession of firearms, and anything else that we can get on this guy. The investigation is obviously ongoing and just started. There is federal law enforcement already working on search warrants and doing their job. And I don't want to get ahead of them and don't want to get ahead of the work that they're doing even as we speak. Director Patel and I were just on the crime scene a short while ago. And everybody in this room should rest assured that the Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI, Secret Service — everybody is on the scene doing their job. I know that the police chief is going to give an update from the scene as soon as we're finished here. And I obviously will leave the details of what they have learned to him. But in the meantime, I just want to thank — thank everybody in this room for the courage. And I want to thank President Trump for his — for his words. And I promise you, justice will be served. Thank you. Director Patel. Director Patel Thank you, General. Thank you, Mr. President. The President is absolutely right. You saw the best resolve of American law enforcement because you, Mr. President, inspire them 24-7, 365. You give them the resources that they need, and you know — they know that you have their back. And that is a changing dynamic in this country, and that's why you saw brave Secret Service agents respond immediately, swiftly, subdue and take down the suspect, and safeguard the lives of thousands of individuals at that hotel. Thanks to our interagency partnership with the Department of Homeland Security and the Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI was rapidly deployed onto the scene, took over the Evidence Response Unit, is examining all the ballistics that were found on scene to include the long gun and the shell casings. We are conducting witness interviews as we speak. You will hear from our team on the scene there with the mayor and the head of the FBI field division there. But please know what the Attorney General has just said rings no truer. You saw the very best of America tonight, the very best unite us at a time of uncertainty because we have leadership here with the President and the Vice President that backs law enforcement. And the men and women that I shook their hands on the scene today could not have been prouder to show up on scene. And as the Attorney General said, make no mistake, we are conducting witness interviews. If you have any information — any information whatsoever related to this event, 1-800-CALL-FBI. 1-800-CALL-FBI. No piece of information is too small. No piece of information is inadequate. We will evaluate it all. We will also be conducting interviews of those that were there. And if any of those individuals have information, please come forward to law enforcement or the FBI or the Metropolitan Police Department. We will be examining this individual's background thoroughly. That process has already started, and we are going to ensure that he was either a lone wolf actor or anyone else that was responsible. We will analyze all evidence immediately to make sure that we safeguard this country. Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, thank you for your leadership. Attorney General and Homeland Secretary Merlin, thank you for your partnership in law enforcement. The President Okay, we'll do a couple, and then we go to the Chief. Madam Chairman, I just want to say you did a fantastic job. What a beautiful evening, and we're going to reschedule. After that, it's very tough for her to ask a killer question, right? But you have done a fantastic job. Please. The Press Thank you, Mr. President. I appreciate it. As you mentioned, it all happened so quickly. And I wonder, especially because, unfortunately, you have experience with these sorts of threats. In that moment, when you realized there was a threat and service agents were telling us to get down, can you describe what was going through your mind, how you were feeling in that moment? The President That's a very good question, actually. It was always shocking when something like this happens. It happened to me a little bit, and that never changes. The fact we were sitting right next to each other — the First Lady, am I right? — and I heard a noise and sort of thought it was a tray. I thought it was a tray going down. You know, I've heard that many times, and it was pretty loud noise. And it was from quite far away. He hadn't breached the area at all. They really got him. But — so it was quite far away, but it was a gun. And some people really understood that pretty quickly. Other people didn't. I was watching to see what was happening. Probably should have gone down even faster. Melania was very cognizant, I think, of what happened. I think she knew immediately what happened. She was saying, that's a bad noise. And we were whisked away, along with other people, but we were really whisked away. And, again, the performance of the Secret Service and the police — all of the law enforcement — I thought it was really good. So it was very quick. There wasn't a lot of time to be thinking because it was a matter of seconds before we were out the door and gone into an area. We very much — and you wanted to, too — we very much wanted to continue it because I don't like to let these sick people — these thugs, these horrible, horrible people — change the fabric of our life, change the course of what we do. So we held out. You were there. We held out right until the end. But they didn't want to take a chance, and I understand. It was protocol. But we're going to be doing one, hopefully, within the next 30 days or sooner. And I am ready, willing, and able. And I was all set to really rip it. And I said to my people, this would be the most inappropriate speech ever made, if I said — so I'll have to save it. I don't know if I could ever be as rough as I was going to be tonight. I think I'm going to be probably very nice. I'll be very boring the next time. But we're going to have a great event. And you did a fantastic job. Thank you very much. Peter, go ahead. The Press Thank you, President Trump. There's a report in the New York Post that this assailant assembled his weapon somewhere on site at the hotel. What do you think about that? And I ask, respectfully, why do you think this keeps happening to you? The President Well, you know, I've studied assassinations. And I must tell you, the most impactful people — the people that do the most — you take a look at the people — Abraham Lincoln. I mean, you go through the people that have gone through this, where they got them. But the people that do the most, the people that make the biggest impact, they're the ones that they go after. They don't go after the ones that don't do much because they like it that way. And when you look at the people that have either — whether it was an attempt or a successful attempt — they're very impactful people. Just take a look at the names here. They're big names. And I hate to say I'm honored by that, but I've done a lot. We've done a lot. We have — we've taken this country, and we were a laughingstock for years. And now we're the hottest country anywhere in the world. We've changed this country. And there are a lot of people that are not happy about that. So I think that's the answer, Peter. The Press And for Hathor Butler, your team, for a while, rethought outdoor events. The President Yeah. The Press Do you think that you now need to rethink indoor events? Well, but then you just don't do events. No, I can't do that. I have to — what it — you know, it is what it is. We have to do it. The room was very, very secure. You know, he charged from 50 yards away, so he was very far away from the room. The Press And what did you think when you saw the video of how fast he was running? The President He was moving. He was really moving. And the reaction time was great. Boy, those guys, they had their guns drawn, literally, by the time he was there. They were shooting. The Press That's right. The President They were — I thought they were very impressive. I thought they were very impressive. And if I didn't, I'd let you know. You know, I'm not going to be — I would not stand for that. No, I thought they were very impressive. The Press Thank you, President Trump. And thank you for updating us on the suspect earlier. Were you aware of any threats? Was your team aware of any threats beforehand? And do you believe you were the target of this tonight? The President I guess. I mean, these people are — they're crazy. They're crazy. And, you know, you never know. He was very far away from me. He had to go through a lot. You know, we had — we had resources all over. We had resources sitting at tables, literally, in disguise, sitting maybe at your table. Who knows? But we had — we had people all over the room, so he had a long way to go. That was really a first line of defense, and they got him. And they really — you know, they acted incredibly. No, we have — we've had no — there was no notification. We had no idea. Go ahead. The Press Do you have any political motivations from this? The President Well, you never know. Now, we'll be able to tell you that maybe by tomorrow or the next day. You know, he's in custody, and they're asking him a lot of questions. I guess they're going over, Todd, and they're already at his apartment. He lives in California. The Press Yes, sir. The President And they'll be — they're over there. So they'll be able to tell you. Thank you, Kaitlan. The Press Did the suspect say anything, or was he wearing anything that would allege some type of motive here? The President Nothing. No. I mean, he was a guy who looked pretty evil when he was down. You know, they had him down. He was fighting hard. He was a — in my opinion, a sick person. Who would do that but a sick person? But I think you're going to find everything about him. No reason to talk about it now. But tomorrow, at this time — long before this time, you're going to know a lot of things about him. He was a — they seem to think he was a lone wolf, and I feel that, too. The Press Are you concerned about U.S. Secret Service protection ability? We saw several of the detailees take minutes to be escorted out of the room. The President No, they acted very quickly. No, I was very impressed by Secret Service. I mean, I'm the one — and, Mark, Wayne, you would agree with that, I think. I'm the one that would complain. You don't have to complain for me. I would be complaining. I'd be up here right now saying they didn't do their job. Oh, believe me, because, you know, it's my life. And I want to live because I want to make this country great. That's why I want to live. But when you're impactful, they go after you. When you're not impactful, they leave you alone. Okay, a couple of — a couple of more. A couple of more. Go ahead, please. The Press Is there any indication that this shooting was — could have been linked to the war in Iran? The President I don't think so, but you never know. We're going to know a lot. We'll — we have the best people in the world working on it, and we're going to know a lot. Please. The Press Mr. President, there's a lot — there's — you, as well as some of us who have covered Butler, experienced another horrific day two years ago. The President Yeah. The Press What's — what felt similar? You know, you had the First Lady with you today. What felt different? And you have another two-plus years in office. Are you concerned about something like this happening again? The President Well, I can't be concerned. I can only get great people. They did the job. A much — in my opinion, a much better job than Butler. Butler had one weak spot that we all know about. Somebody should have been up there. But even Butler — we had a — our sniper, a sniper on our side, within 4.2 seconds from a distance of about 400 yards, one shot, and he was gone. And if he didn't do — now, you know, he's David. The name was David. I say, hello, David, every time I see him. David, I like you very much, David. But think of that. Now, if he doesn't hit him, and he hit him right between the eyes from 400 yards, without any notice, nobody knew. He heard a sound. He looked over, and there was actually a tree that was somewhat in his way. You know the story very well. And he aimed, he fired. And if he didn't do that, beyond me, you would have had a lot more people killed. We lost one great person and two people very badly hurt. They're okay now. But, no, that was — so, in a sense, you know, they — it was pretty amazing, the job they did. But — but they did have that one weak spot, as you know. They should have had that covered. Tonight, they had everything covered very quickly. And he was fast. He was running full blast. And they got him before they got any further. I was very far away. You know, he was — he hadn't anywhere close to breach the doors of the ballroom. The ballroom was sealed. And everybody in there — that's why, once those doors opened, they didn't want to do tonight. If the doors weren't opened, we could have probably done it tonight. But I think we're much better off rescheduling. Yeah, please. The Press. Mr. President, for you and perhaps law enforcement as well, what is the level of confidence that this was a lone actor? And has the suspect made any statements to police while in custody? No, I think it — just my — look, it's not my profession. We have great professionals up here and outside that have been working with us. My impression is he was a lone wolf, a whack job. These are crazy people. And they have to be dealt with. We had that in the second attempt. As you know, he's — he's spending life in prison. Because if you let him out, they'll probably, you know, you — if he serves 10 years or 15 years, you let him out, he'll probably try it again with somebody else. They're sick people. We have a lot of sick people. But you're going to know — I think, very shortly, you're going to know, Todd, a lot about him. You're going to know a lot about him. Yeah, a couple of more. Yeah, please. Go ahead. Are you concerned about political violence? This could be politically motivated. Or violence. You know, I'm concerned about everything. Look — but I can't be — I can't be — I can't be so concerned that you can't function. No, I'm here. It's a dangerous profession. You know, I tell the story — racecar drivers. I think it's very dangerous. So, if you take 1 percent and then take about 10 percent of 1 percent, just to break it down very easily, they die. So, much less than 1 percent. Ten percent of 1 percent. I think bull riding is very dangerous. If you take about the same — 10 percent of 1 percent. Much less than 1 percent. But if you take presidents, it's 5.8 percent. And about 8 percent are shot at. So, nobody told me this was such a dangerous profession. If Marco would have told me, maybe I wouldn't have run. Maybe I would have said, I'll take a pass. No, it's a dangerous profession. But I don't view it that way. Look, I'm here to do a job. It's part of the job. It is a dangerous — it's — I can't imagine that there's any profession that's more dangerous. But I love the country and I'm very proud. I'm very proud of the job we've done. You see what's happened. We have a great country. We've got, I think, the most successful, the hottest country anywhere in the world. This happened over a period of just a year. And we're going to do great things. But with that come risks. There's no question about it. Yeah. The Press. I mean, there's been so much political violence, not just aimed at yourself, but at other members of — members of Congress. Statehouse speakers. You name it. Is that just the cost of doing business? Yeah. To do politics in America anymore? Yeah. Well — What does that say about our country? We're not the only country. You look at — there's great violence with all countries. I was talking to somebody from another country today, and they have numerous assassinations of political figures all over the world. You look at South America. In South America, it's like — some of the numbers are just horrific. It's dangerous. It's dangerous stuff. Whether it's here or someplace else, no country is immune. No country. Good question. Will you turn that temperature down at this point? Well, probably, if I decided to just not do much. You know, if I let everybody rip us off and take advantage of us. Look, we're leading the world in trade now. We're leading the world in the military. We're the greatest military in the world. I rebuilt it on my first term. And now we use it because we have no choice. We can't let — as an example, Iran. We can't let them get a nuclear weapon. That'll — everything will be peanuts compared to that if they ever were given a nuclear weapon. And they'd use it too. Marco and I were talking about it today. They would use it without even hesitation. We can't do that. It was a shame. I said, Oh, boy, look at the numbers. We just broke 50,000 in the Dow. We just broke 7,000 in the S&P. They said we couldn't do it in seven years, in five years, four years. They were saying maybe in five or six years. And we did it in one year, and I called everybody together. I called all of these people and others, and I said, We have to take a little journey. I seek to do this. We just had a great number. We just broke 50,000. Wasn't supposed to happen during my term. Wasn't reachable. We did it in one year, and I said, We're going to have to make a journey to Iran. They — they're going to have a nuclear weapon if we don't do it. We had the B-2 bombers take them out. I terminated, in the first term, the Obama agreement, the Iran nuclear agreement, which was a disaster. That was a road to a nuclear weapon. They would have used it. They would have used it 100 percent. So, you know, when you do things like that, you become a target. If I wasn't doing that, I guess I'd be a lot less of a target. But I'm honored to be — okay, one more question. Go ahead. Yeah, go ahead. The Press Thank you, President Trump. Thank you, President Trump. Do you know how the gun was brought into the hotel? And also, how does this event impact you as the leader of our country? Do you think it will change your leadership? The President I like not to think about it. I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it's a dangerous life. I think I'm — I think I handle it as well as — as well as it can be handled. I think a lot of other people — you know, you read stories where they become basket cases, to be honest with you. I'm not a basket case. I take it as — I really take it as it is. I do it for the country. I'm not doing it for any other reason. I have a First Lady who's doing a terrific job. She loves the country, and she recognizes it better than anybody. She's told me numerous times. She said, You are in a dangerous job. But that goes along with her, too. I mean, it's dangerous for her, too. We sat there tonight. We heard that noise, and it was either a tray or a bullet. I thought — I was hoping it was a tray, but it wasn't. And again, we had some very brave people doing a great job, so we're very proud of them and happy with them. I just want to thank everybody. They will be able to give you all that information as to the names and everything else. Most of — I think we released the names already. Most — most of you would have it. But his name. We appreciate it. I see so many tuxedos and beautiful dresses. It was a little different evening than we thought. But we're going to do it again, and we're going to — we have a great chairman who we're so proud of. And we have to make it better. We'll make it safer, I guess, right? But we're going to make it even better. Okay? Thank you very much. Thank you. The Press Can we hear from the President about how impactful this was? Can we hear from her about — The President Well, honey, would you want to say something? Huh? The Press Can we hear from the President? The President Right. The Press Can we hear from the President? The President So many of the people across the globe, in fact, are watching you. You demonstrated courageous leadership. And, thank God, you're alive. All of us are alive today. What is the message that you want to give to the world that this should change? What corrective measures can we take from here on, sir? The President Well, all you can do — look, I don't care how many people you have, how good they are. They can be the greatest people. You have the greatest security in history. If you have a whack job who's got a brain but it's a little bit distorted or a lot distorted, they can make trouble. I would say, Pete, right? You know, they can make trouble. Some of these people are of genius-level IQ, and they're nuts. So it can be trouble. So you do absolutely the best. You get the best. We have the best people. Well, look, it was proven tonight. He — he started running from 50 yards, and he was fast. It was like a blur on tape. He was moving. They turned — it was very impressive the way they got him. Because a lot of people would be looking and saying, you know, it's like a weird feeling. And they would let him get through, but they didn't let him get through. They — they drew those guns so fast. Looked like — they looked like Matt Dillon. They looked like somebody that knew what they were doing. What do I do? But it comes with the territory. And if you want to do a great job, I really believe that. And I — you take a look at what's happened to some of our greatest Presidents, and it doesn't happen to people that don't do anything. And it's not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran. I don't know if that had anything to do with — I really don't think so, based on what we know. But we're going to continue to do a great job. That's all I can do. Thank you very much, everybody. I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you.