Oz Pearlman recounts press dinner shooting – 'Are we about to die?'
Oz Pearlman recounts press dinner shooting – 'Are we about to die?'
Brendan Morrow, USA TODAYSun, April 26, 2026 at 2:26 PM UTC
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Oz Pearlman is speaking out after a gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, where the mentalist was serving as host and headline entertainer.
In an Instagram post on April 25, Pearlman gave his account of what he saw earlier in the evening when gunshots were heard in the Washington Hilton in D.C., during the event that President Donald Trump and other administration officials were attending. A suspect, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, was taken into custody after allegedly charging a security checkpoint armed with guns and knives.
Pearlman said he was performing for the president and first lady "when I looked up to see a commotion, thought it was a bomb about to go off or shots fired," noting, "We hit the deck fast and Secret Service acted decisively and professionally to protect us all."
Oz Pearlman, left, and Elisa Rosen attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner at Washington Hilton on April 25, 2026, in D.C.
He added, "We laid on the ground, I was a couple feet away from President Trump, eyes locked with one another. It was likely the scariest moment of my life and will never forget it. So happy everyone was OK."
Pearlman discussed the incident further in a CNN appearance on April 26. He noted he initially thought there might be a bomb in the room, and he said he will "never forget the image" of the president on the floor "less than a foot" in front of him.
"They bring the president down directly in front of me, and we just look at each other for about two seconds, and my mind [is like], 'Oh, no. Are we about to die?' " Pearlman said. "I thought it was about to explode. That was really my instinct."
Pearlman also told CNN that he wondered if Trump had been hurt because the president "went down really hard" when he was brought to the ground by Secret Secret agents. "It was a tackle ... and that would hurt anyone," Pearlman said. "I don't care what age you are. So we were looking at each other. He was just looking, but the expression in his face didn't show whether there was pain or what was going on."
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After Trump was taken away, Pearlman said on CNN there was "chaos" backstage for several minutes, during which he didn't know whether the president was OK. "No one really knew what had happened for an extended period, which was kind of jarring," he said.
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Footage from the event showed Pearlman interacting with the president, the first lady and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on stage when the commotion began. He was performing a trick for them before the gunshots were heard and Trump was whisked off stage.
1 / 0See White House Correspondents' Dinner red carpet looks, notable moments
Kelly O'Donnell attends the 2026 White House Correspondents' Dinner at Washington Hilton on April 25, 2026 in Washington, DC.President Donald Trump is attending the dinner for the first time in more than a decade – and his first time ever as president. He has repeatedly skipped the annual event, which brings together Washington’s most powerful and the reporters who cover them. The president last attended in 2015 as a guest. His appearance at the dinner in 2011 went viral after he was roasted by then-President Barack Obama.
In an address at the White House later in the evening, Trump confirmed the suspect "charged a security checkpoint, armed with multiple weapons," and was "taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service." A Secret Service officer was shot, but he was protected by a bulletproof vest and is "doing great" and in "very high spirits," Trump said. There were no other injuries.
In an interview on "Meet the Press," U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the suspect appeared to "have set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the President."
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The annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner brings together journalists who cover the president and members of his administration for an evening of good-natured roasts. The event is typically headlined by a comedian, but Pearlman was tapped to serve as entertainer for 2026. After years of skipping the ceremony, this was Trump's first time going to the event as president.
Oz Pearlman attends iHeartRadio z100's Jingle Ball on Dec. 12, 2025, in New York City.
After the incident, organizers initially announced plans to resume the programming, but the dinner was later canceled. The president said he wanted to go back on stage and carry on with the event but was advised not to do so. He also said the dinner will be rescheduled within the next 30 days.
"We're going to do it again. We're not going to let anybody take over our society," Trump said in his White House briefing. "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 it was protocol."
Contributing: Karissa Waddick and Christopher Cann
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oz Pearlman describes White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
