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Confusion and Fright Inside the Washington Hilton Ballroom
A sense of danger spread like a wave among high-profile politicians and journalists as an emergency unfolded at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
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Secret Service members responding after the sound of gunfire at the Washington Hilton on Saturday.
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Salwan Georges for The New York Times
By
Michael M. Grynbaum
Reporting from inside the Washington Hilton ballroom.
April 26, 2026,
12:30 a.m. ET
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The spring pea and burrata appetizer course had been distributed and the schmoozing hour of Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner had begun when a small commotion occurred toward the back of the Washington Hilton ballroom shortly past 8:30 p.m.
It might have been an upturned catering cart, or perhaps a scuffle with protesters. Then security officers began sprinting down the aisles toward the elevated dais, where President Trump, along with Vice President JD Vance and the first lady, Melania Trump, had taken their seats just a few minutes earlier.
There were no announcements or cries of “get down.” Instead, a sense of danger spread across the room like a wave. Hundreds of the country’s top media executives, editors in chief and prominent television anchors, clad in tuxedos and evening gowns, instinctively dropped to the floor, crouching besides chairs and ducking under tables.
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Guests took cover inside the ballroom.
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Evan Vucci/Reuters
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Security took the stage of the dinner after President Trump was escorted out.
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Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
A nauseous silence descended, punctuated by small gasps and whimpers. The loudest sounds were those of the security officers racing — and in some cases leaping over chairs and guests — to evacuate senior administration officials from the tightly packed ballroom.
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