Correspondents’ dinner chaos hits high-profile guests already marked by political violence

When shots rang out at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, the chaos tore through a ballroom that included a handful of people who had already lived through political violence. 

President Donald Trump was rushed from the ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel on Saturday evening, just as the dinner was kicking off in earnest, after apparent gunshots were heard. Video from inside the event showed attendees taking cover under tables as panic spread through the room.

The moment carried additional weight for several attendees whose lives had already been shaped by political violence, including Trump, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and TPUSA CEO Erika Kirk.

“The people that make the biggest impact, they’re the ones that [shooters] go after,” Trump said late on Saturday evening from a press conference at the White House. “They don’t go after the ones that don’t do much because they like it that way.” 

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Trump, himself, has faced repeated threats on his life. 

There were two assassination attempts on Trump’s life in 2024, beginning in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a bullet grazed his ear after a gunman climbed onto a roof during a rally on July 13, 2024.

“Butler had one weak spot that we all know about. Somebody should have been up there, but even in Butler, we had our sniper on our side. Within 4.2 seconds, from a distance of about 400 yards, one shot, and he was gone,” said Trump.

A second incident unfolded just weeks later, at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, when a suspect with a rifle was discovered near the golf course while Trump was present. Trump was not injured during that incident. 

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Others in the room have also been shaped by political violence, bringing additional weight to the moment.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nephew of President John F. Kennedy (JFK), was swiftly escorted out of the room on Saturday, an HHS official told Fox News Digital. His family history is closely tied to two tragic assassinations. 

JFK was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963, while riding in an open-top motorcade in Dallas, Texas, during a re-election campaign event.

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Five years later, the secretary’s father, then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, was shot after he delivered a victory speech when he won the California Democratic presidential primary. 

He was struck three times, including a fatal shot to the head.

Similarly, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise was among four people who were shot on June 14, 2017, at a Republican congressional baseball practice. The gunman, a supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was shot and killed by police.

Scalise was shot in the hip, leaving him critically wounded. He eventually recovered and returned to Congress months later.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the brave members of law enforcement who acted quickly to protect all of us attending tonight’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. This is an event meant to bring people together. Violence has NO place in our country,” Scalise posted to X. 

Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk was reportedly seen crying backstage after she ran out of the ballroom following the shots fired. Kirk has also experienced personal tragedy when her husband was assassinated in September 2025 while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Kennedy and Scalise for comment.

Trump hailed law enforcement during his press conference from the White House late on Saturday, saying the situation was “incredibly acted upon by Secret Service and law enforcement.” 

“[The suspect] 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,” he continued. 

The suspected gunman, identified as a 31-year-old Cole Allen of California, was taken into custody.