Washington: US President Donald Trump has called for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to be held again within 30 days, insisting that a “crazy person” should not be allowed to disrupt a long-standing event tied to press freedom.
Speaking in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes after a gunman breached security and opened fire near the venue, Trump said he wanted the annual gathering rescheduled quickly with stronger safeguards.
“I want them… to do it again. We can’t let something be— it’s not that I wanna go… I think it’s very important that they do it again,” he said.
The president said enhanced measures could ensure safety at a future event. “They’ll have even more security, and they’ll have bigger perimeter security. It’ll be fine,” he said.
The shooting unfolded late Saturday at a Washington hotel hosting more than 2,500 guests, including senior administration officials, lawmakers, diplomats and journalists. The suspect was quickly subdued by security personnel, and no fatalities were reported.
Trump said he had even urged organisers to continue the dinner despite the disruption. “I tried to get them to continue the event, if possible,” he said, underscoring his reluctance to see the gathering cancelled.
He framed the incident as an isolated act rather than a reason to halt public events. “I don’t want to have a crazy person… be able to cancel something like this,” he said.
The president also pointed to what he described as a brief moment of unity following the attack. “I saw a room that was just totally unified. It was, in one way, very beautiful,” he said.
At the same time, Trump renewed criticism of sections of the US media, describing it as “very liberal or very progressive,” even as he acknowledged that “there are great people in the press” and some who are “very fair.”
Trump reiterated his support for continuing the tradition of the correspondents’ dinner, which is widely seen as a symbol of the First Amendment and the relationship between the presidency and the press corps.
The event typically brings together political leaders, journalists and public figures in a rare setting that blends formal speeches with humour and reflection on the role of the media in American democracy.
(IANS)
