President Donald Trump sat down for a tense interview with “60 Minutes” host Norah O’Donnell just under 24 hours after a leftist gunmen attempted to assassinate him and senior cabinet officials at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington D.C.
The most intense moment of the interview came when O’Donnell asked about the accused gunman, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, and his motives. Allen left a manifesto in which he expressed his desire to assassinate Trump, whom he referred to as a “fascist” and a “Nazi” frequently on social media, and senior officials.
He framed his actions as morally righteous and indicated that he was willing to kill any bystanders who got in the way. Allen, a California native, also referenced thoroughly debunked narratives surrounding Trump and notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein both in the manifesto and on social media.
During the interview, O’Donnell read off accusations made by the gunman and asked for the president’s fault on being labeled a “rapist,” “traitor” and “pedophile” by an attempted mass murderer. Trump immediately rejected the framing of the question, suggesting that it sounded sympathetic to the shooter.
“I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would because you’re horrible people!I didn’t rape anybody. You read that crap from a sick person,” the president said, speaking in reference to the highly controversial E. Jean Carroll case.
“You should be ashamed of yourself reading that because I’m not any of those things,” Trump added. “You shouldn’t be reading that in 60 Minutes. You’re a disgrace. But go ahead. Let’s finish the interview.”
Elsewhere the interview, Trump described his response when law enforcement moved to secure him after shots rang out. He stated that he “wasn’t making it that easy” for the Secret Service because he wanted to observe what was occurring.
The president added that he “wasn’t worried” during the episode and noted, “I’ve been through this before, a couple of times.”
Trump also praised the Secret Service and law enforcement officers who stopped the gunman at a security checkpoint outside the Washington Hilton ballroom, where the dinner was taking place and stressed that the event must be rescheduled.
