Extended interview: President Trump on White House Correspondents' Dinner

60 minutes overtime. Mr. President, thank you for doing this. Thank you. I'm glad you are safe. I am glad that everyone is safe. How are. you doing? I'm doing well. It was. quite an evening. It was a very. difficult thing to watch, frankly. But doing very well. Mr. President, do you know if you were. the target of the gunman? I don't know. It sounded to me, I read a manifesto.

This is he's radicalized. He was a. Christian. believer and then he became an. anti-Christian and he had a lot of. change. He's been going through a lot. based on what he wrote. His brother complained about him and I. think reported him to the police and his. sister likewise complained about him. His family was very concerned. He was uh. probably a pretty sick guy. I want to get to all of those details. and also walk through this what happened.

last night, but first. this appears to be the third. attempted assassination on your life. The first in Butler, the second of. course on the golf course in Florida. Why do you think so many people may be. trying to kill you? So I've said it and I've said it. numerous times and I actually because of. the position I'm in, I've done quite a. bit of research into the word. assassination. Terrible word.

And they go after consequential. presidents. They go after. presidents that do things. If you look. at what I've done, we've turned this. country around. We've taken a country. that was actually a dead country. It was. dying very rapidly and it's the hottest. country anywhere in the world. We had a. skirmish, a war, whatever you want to. call it with Venezuela. We won that very. decisively and we now have a great. relationship with Venezuela. It's been a. very profitable relationship.

We're in Iran right now. Other. presidents should have done it, but they. never chose to do it. They should have. They made a terrible mistake by not. doing it. It's tougher now than it would. have been 10 years ago or even 5 years. ago because. uh you know, they had thousands and. thousands of missiles and everything. else. If we didn't do the B-2 bomber. attack, that alone was a big deal. The. killing of Soleimani, which I did in my. first term, was a big deal. But when. you're a consequential when you do. things, a lot of things and things that.

work out very well for our country, uh. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. McKinley was assassinated. McKinley made. the country very rich. People don't. realize that. Then. Teddy Roosevelt went out and spent the. money that was made by McKinley, but he. was very consequential actually, but he. was assassinated, so. You mentioned, Mr. President, consequential and your policies are also. controversial. Is that part of it? Well, I don't think that way. I don't think in. terms of what they are. I just think of.

what they are for the country. For. instance, I inherited the worst border we've ever. had in the history of our country where. 25 million people came in, 25 million. people at least. And many of them were from hardcore. criminals and they were drug dealers and. they were from prisons. They emptied out. prisons into our country. They emptied. out mental institutions and sanatoriums. into our country. And I don't know if that's controversial. to say we have to move those people out, but we have and but it it is from the.

standpoint it you're doing something and. you're doing something that's good. Uh. things like. men playing in women's sports. I'm. against that. Things like transgender. for everyone. I'm against. [clears throat] that. There's so many. things that I'm against. I don't think they're controversial. I. think the other side is controversial, but. I do a lot of things and I get things. done and you know, we're respected now. as a country all over the world. And. some people love that, but some people. probably don't. Mr. President, I'm sure you've now had.

the opportunity to see. some of the pictures of what happened. last night and I want to walk through. that. Sure. It was just around 8:30 p.m. You were sitting there next to the first. lady. The entertainer named Oz Pearlman is. talking to you. He's known as the. mentalist. When did you know something was wrong? Right around that point. In fact, you can see the. expression on the first lady's. uh face. and your president of the evening,

chairman or president or both, who was. doing a great job, by the way. Your associate, yeah. She was a terrific. person. And she was, you know, she had this big. smile. I mean, they were You know what. they were talking about? They were. asking. the name of Caroline's child. that he didn't know, I guess, but he was. able to. >> expecting and he was trying to guess the. baby's name. That's right. And that was. the question. That was what he and he. was actually.

able to get it. I'm not sure I'm a. believer in this, but he was able to get. it and. uh. the. first lady and your associate were. amazed. You could see the And that was. >> Shock on their faces. >> the shock about something outside, but. right after that we heard a big bang. and it was either a gunshot or it was a. tray of. dishes, which happens a lot in. ballrooms. And I was hoping it was a tray, but it. wasn't.

You mentioned the first lady. Her face. she looked very alarmed. Was she scared? Well, I don't want to say and people. don't like having it said that they were. scared, but certainly I mean, who. wouldn't be when you have a situation. like that. By that time, I think she. realized ahead of time that that was. more of a bullet than it was a tray. And she was. uh. I looked at her face just a little while. ago before I came. I saw the scene. They. played it for me in, you know, pretty.

good close-up. And. she looked very upset about what just. took place, yeah. Mhm. Why not? You see the security moving. quickly, within seconds grabbing the. vice president by his coat, lifting him. up, bringing him out. Then the. counter-assault comes in. Took 10 seconds for them to flank you, Mr. President, and then 20 seconds to. get you out. It looked chaotic. At one.

point you were down. What was happening? Well, what happened is. it was a little bit me. I wanted to see. what was happening. And I wasn't making it that easy for. them. I wanted to. see what was going on. And by that time we started to realize. maybe it was. a bad problem, different kind of a. problem, bad one. And different than what would be normal. noise from a ballroom, which you hear. all the time. And. I was surrounded by great people. And I.

probably. made them act a little bit more slowly. I said, "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Let me see. Wait a minute." So, you. know, I'm telling guys. >> Just at that moment where it looks like. you go sort of down with the service. You were telling them to wait. >> know what happened is then I started. walking with them. I turned, I started. walking. And they said, "Please go down. Please go down on the floor." So, I went. down. and first lady went down also, but we. were asked to go down by the agents. As I was walking.

>> In other words, they wanted you almost. to crawl. >> standing up pretty much. I was standing. up. and. then turned around the opposite. direction and started pretty much. walking out pretty tall, a little bent. over because I, you know, I'm not. looking to be standing too tall. And but I was walking out. I was pretty. about halfway there and they said, "Please go down to the floor. Please go. down to the floor." So, I dropped to the. floor, so did the first lady. What was. your thought at that moment? What did. the first lady say? Well, my thought.

was, you know, I've been through this. before a couple of times and. she has not to this extent. She handled. it great. I mean, she was she's very. strong, smart. She got it. She knew what was. happening. She listened. I did too, by. the Cuz this was the first time she. >> When they said, "Yeah, when they said. drop down," that meant trouble. And. obviously I'm the president and. I listened to what they said, "Please. drop down, sir. Please drop down." So, I. was walking halfway and then I dropped. down at the final because we had little.

ways to go where you're exposed to the. ballroom surroundings. And. then I get up and we went to. a hold room for a while and I tried to. get them to continue the event if. possible. >> You wanted to go back in. I did. I. really did because I don't like to have. a criminal or sick person or somebody, whoever he is, you'll figure it out. I. mean, we're I think we're already. figuring out. He's a man with a lot of. problems. But you know, when I have somebody like.

this. you know, essentially attacking our. Constitution, attacking our country, changing events that are, you know, it's. an important event. It was a very. >> celebrating the First Amendment and the. freedom of the press. >> That's right. Exactly. And. And this was a big this was a record. setter. I mean, this was a very big, you. know, the the dinner had some problems. for the last 9 years and now. and I I didn't help them and. this time I went and. I felt really good being there. There.

was a great camaraderie. I wasn't sure what the response. It was, you know, a lot of press, a lot of. media. And when I walked in, I got a very nice. applause. I wasn't sure. I said, "You. know," told my wife. I said, "You know, I may walk in. and they may give me a hard time or I. may walk in, let's see what happens.". And I walked in and got very nice. uh a very I think they were happy to see. me there, actually. And I can tell you there there's the. biggest impact that I saw in the entire. evening was. uh and I say this being somebody that's.

had a lot of. Well, let's say we've argued a little. bit to get things that I want done. I I fight for a border and they fight. for an open border and you know, we have. a lot of a lot of differences. There was tremendous There was. tremendous. By this time the event had taken place. People were starting to feel safe. There was tremendous camaraderie. I mean. I saw Democrats, I saw senators, I saw. congressmen and women. I saw people that.

weren't necessarily on my side from the. other party. Mostly pretty much the. Republicans are on my side, so I'm not. that you know, surprised. And. they were going way to go. What There. was spirit in that room. I mean it was. like the whole country was. together. It was pretty amazing. It made a big. impression. It was very nice to see. Do. you think this will change your. relationship with the press? Well, look, for whatever reason we disagree on a lot.

of subjects. We talk about crime. I'm very strong on. crime. It seems like the press isn't. It's not so much the press, it's the. press plus the Democrats because they're. almost one in the same. It's like the. craziest thing. I have the strongest border we've ever. had in the country. We're as you know, it it's at zero people for 9 months came. into our country through our southern. border. We have a very tough border. Before me 25 million people came in. I.

mean whether it's 20 or 25 or 30, but. they say 25 million people came in. Zero people. We have people coming in. legally. Can I ask you something? You. said something. >> other side doesn't like that. There are. things that I like that I think are very. standard. I want women to be able to. play women. I don't want men in women's. sports and. for whatever reason the other side likes. men in women's sports. So when you say. get along. >> the other side. That's the other side. >> I could ever No, but I don't think I. could ever change my.

feelings on. certain policies. I want strong borders. They want open borders. There's such a difference. Can I ask you Mr. President? You said. something. >> say this though after the. event meaning it looked like things were. good. They We knew he was caught. I was. given the information immediately. There was a camaraderie that you just. have not seen in a while. It's very nice. to see. The president. You Mr. President, the Vice President,

the Speaker of the House, the Secretary. of State, Secretary Hagseth, almost the. entire line of presidential succession. Yeah. was in that ballroom. Who was the designated survivor? Well, it's First of all, I have to say. it's not a safe ballroom. I'm building a safe ballroom. And one of the reasons I'm building it. is exactly what happened last night. We're building a room right there. You. walk out and move 20 yards to the left,

you'll be right at the entrance to the. ballroom. And that ballroom is being built on the. safest piece of property in this. country, probably one of the safest. pieces of land in the world. We have But. it that's owned That's the White House. The White House Correspondents Center. can't use White House property. >> able to be used by certainly the White. House. It says the White House. Correspondents. Well, that's the White. House press. I'm sure that it's. available. You know, it's up to the. president, but that would be a made. available. And this has bulletproof. glass. This has You know, this is the.

highest level of security. Also very. importantly, I could have built suites. on top. I could have done a lot of. things that I said, "No, no, we have. This has to be pure. This has to be. where people stay off property. and they go through one very impactful, very strong entrance, one very powerful. entrance. There's no games with this. This is the. best, highest This has all sorts of. security equipment at at levels that you. could never have in a regular ballroom. And we're ahead of schedule. We're right.

on budget, ahead of schedule. I wish it. could be even sooner, but we're you. know, months ahead of schedule. But it doesn't open till 28. So, you know, that means you have. another season and a half to go. >> Right. But uh. this is exactly why the military and. this is exactly why Secret Service and. all law enforcement wanted because. you have maybe a thousand hotel rooms. above the ballroom we were in last. night. And I'm not knocking it. I'm just. saying in terms of maximum security,

it's not the best thing. You can do it, but you can have problems like this. They have an elevator that comes down. from the rooms. It's very close to the. ballroom, which makes sense. So, we're doing we're doing something. that's going to have a tremendous impact. on solving this problem. In that video. you can see the gunman running through. the metal detectors. And he fired off. one or two rounds.

>> speed was rather incredible. Actually, he was He was like a blur. How did he get that close with the place. swarming with security? >> I will say look, I I say it because I'm. a big fan of the people of law. enforcement. And you know, some of these people, they. may be crazy, but they're not stupid and. they figure things out. He ran 45 yards, they say. And he just went to it and then boom, he. popped through it. A thing like that could happen. I would.

say this having the. equipment on the outside of the building. maybe is better than having it on the. inside of the building. Sometimes that's. tough. Sometimes it's horrendous. weather. Sometimes it's pouring, it's. raining, it's lots of things happen. But. maybe last night was actually quite. nice. The weather was beautiful. So, maybe something like that has to take. place. I can only say that. from the moment they realized that he. was I mean he ran like I think the NFL. should sign him up. He was fast.

When you look at it on tape, it's almost. like a blur. Right. But it was amazing. cuz as soon as they saw that, you could. see them draw their guns. They were so. professional. Aimed their guns and then they took him. down immediately. The doors were sealed, the room was. sealed, the ballroom itself where the. people were. And they really they really I think they. did a great job. I was in the room not. far from you, Mr. President. Could hear. what sounded like gunshots or commotion.

People nearby could smell the gunpowder. Everybody hit the floor. There were a number of. people who were very very scared. Yeah. How worried were you. that there were going to be injuries? I wasn't worried. I understand life. >> [snorts]. >> We live in a crazy world. You can really. enhance your chances of having a perfect.

situation, but sometimes things will. happen. I did want to see what was happening cuz. I you know, I'm the president. In one. way I guess I should be hiding, in. another way I want to see if I can be. helpful, but I I did watch because I. could see what was going on at the door. I also saw a lot of very strong. physically strong. really attractive law enforcement people. come through those doors. And frankly, it made me feel very safe.

Very very safe. There was nobody going. to get by them. And this was at the very. back of the ballroom looking at the back. of the ballroom being The. counter-assault team that comes in. >> they were very impressive. I think they. were very impressive. I think the whole. operation was very impressive. The only. thing you could say is maybe they could. move that counterpoint out deeper out. In other words, move it. to the outside of the building. Let's. talk about that. Mr. President, I wonder. how much has the Secret Service and the. FBI briefed you about this suspect, Cole. Thomas Allen? Have you read what a.

senior US official is describing to us. as a manifesto? Yeah. Did you know that. he emailed it to family members not. >> We found all of that out this morning. >> right before the attack. Yeah, we found. that out this morning and the family. members were. concerned. I think the brother called up. the police. I think the sister may have. called the police. The parents were rather devastated. He. lived with the parents. I saw the. parents last night on television opening. the door. I assume that was his parents.

Look, you have sick people. And. you have to mitigate the risk. But some of these sick people, it's. amazing. Some of the They're very sick, but they're also in some cases very very. smart. He went to grade school. I can. tell you the. person in Butler, I don't know if you. ever looked at his academic credentials. He had almost 1,600 in his college. boards. 1,600. Nobody has. I mean that's. the upper.

99.9%. or something and he was a crazy person, but. a smart crazy person. I think the law. enforcement did. a great job last night. Let me ask you. >> if they didn't, I wouldn't be here. But. I think they really did a great job. Now, can you make adjustments? We're. also learning. Can you make adjustments? I think the only adjustment would be you. move your security equipment further. away, but it was It was about 50 yards.

away. 50 yards is a lot of yards. Now, when a guy's running at that speed, he. was a very fast person. And he got him by a little bit by. surprise, but that didn't matter because. he was totally subdued very shortly. after he passed that one point. The. so-called manifesto is a stunning thing. to read, Mr. President. He appears to. reference a motive in it. He writes this. quote, "Administration officials, they. are targets." And he also wrote this,

"I'm no longer willing to permit a. pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat. my hands with his crimes." What's your. reaction to that? >> was waiting for you to read that because. I knew you would because you're you're. you're horrible people, horrible people. Yeah, he did write that. Uh I'm I'm not a rapist. I didn't rape. anybody. Uh. But do you think do you think he was. referring to you? >> I'm not a pedophile. You read that crap. from some sick person. Uh. I got associated with.

all stuff that has nothing to do with. me. I was totally exonerated. Your. friends on the other side of. the plate are the ones that were. involved with, let's say, Epstein or. other things. But I said to myself, you. know, I'll do this interview and they'll. probably I read the manifesto. You know, it's sick person. But. you should be ashamed of yourself. reading that because I'm not any of. those things. >> Mr. President, these are the things that. >> Excuse me. Excuse me.

You shouldn't be reading that on 60. Minutes. You're a disgrace. But go. ahead. Let's finish the interview. The. other thing that he wrote in the. >> The other thing in the manifesto that I. think is. worth looking at in terms of determining. his motive. He had been staying at the. hotel since Friday. He checked in. He said he had cased the. place and he wrote, "What the hell is. the Secret Service doing?" And he wrote. this quote, "I expected security cameras. at every bend, bugged hotel rooms, armed. agents every 10 ft, metal detectors out. the wazoo. What I got is nothing." He.

wrote like this level of incompetence is. insane. Sir, you have already had two committed. >> pretty incompetent, too, because he got. caught. And he got caught pretty easily. So, I'd say he was pretty incompetent, too. You know, I can take any event. having to do with security or anything. else. I I can always find fault, no. matter what. I can take a baseball team. that won the game 18 to nothing and say. they should have played better. Uh. Those guys did a good job last night.

They did a really good job. Now, do they. make adjustments? They do. They learn. They make adjustments. Uh we're living in a different world. with the internet than we had. uh. years ago. But even years ago it was. very dangerous. I mean, just ask Honest. Abe Lincoln. Pretty dangerous. And uh but we are living a very, you. know, the internet I think maybe more. than anything else it's radicalized some. people. It's made people. mentally sick. It's also a great thing. It's a.

phenomenal thing. We're the leader in. it. We have with the leader in AI. It's. a great thing. But you'll always find. problems. Uh but it's a different it's a different. age. It's a very different It's a very. different time. I mentioned that because again as his. motive, you brought this up, he had. social media accounts that had. anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric. You should read Why don't you read all. the anti-Trump? Why don't you read it? You just did. So, why don't you read it? Well, he had a lot of anti-Christian.

rhetoric. He had He was part of a group. called the Wide Awakes. He had attended. a No Kings protest in California. >> What did security tell you about what. may have been his motives? >> the reason you have people like that is. you have people doing no kings. I'm not. a king. What I am, if I was a king, I. wouldn't be dealing with you. Uh. No, I'm not a king. I I get it. I I. don't laugh. I don't I I see these no. kings which are funded just like the.

Southern Law was funded. You saw all. that Southern Law is financing the KKK. and lots of other radical. terrible groups. And then they go out and they say, "Oh, we've got to stop the KKK." And yet they. give them hundreds of thousands and even. millions of dollars. They were. >> a total scam run by the Democrats. Uh it shows you that like. Charlottesville, Charlottesville was all. funded by the Southern Law. That was a. Southern Law deal, too. And it was done. to make me look bad and it turned out to. be a total fake. It basically was.

uh a rigged election. This was a part of. the rigging of the election. And that's what you really should be. doing. I mean, I hope one of your. 60 Minute episodes, which really hasn't. changed very much for the last few. years, I'm surprised. But one of those. episodes should be on. Southern Law and the fact that they. spent millions and millions of dollars. on absolute far right and just bad bad. groups. And then they use those groups. and then say, "These are Republican.

groups and we're coming to your rescue.". And they're the ones that have funded it. and they're the ones that kept them keep. them going. I want to. >> pretty sad. Do you think it's pretty. sad, Laura? The allegations and. indictment later on. was. >> These are. These are facts, okay? These are facts. I mean, they have checks to the Ku Klux. Klan and many others. And then they're. saying how bad they are and blaming the. Republican Party and Republicans. These. are not just allegations. But go ahead. Well, as as you know, sir, you've been. accused of things and were able to go to. a court of law and adjudicate them. So,

Yeah, after. after 5 years. It's It's Takes you about. 5 years. I do want to talk about that. when you were president. >> I've also won a lot of money from fake. news media. where they write falsely about me and. not that I want to sue people cuz I. don't. But I bring lawsuits against the. fake news. I brought lawsuits against. your network and you paid me $38 million. because you did something that was so. horrible. with Kamala, you. put an answer down that wasn't.

responsive to the question because her. answer her real answer was so bad it was. election threatening. And uh you paid me a lot of money. And. you tried to pull one off. It was. terrible. It was a terrible thing that. you did. And you know, when you say, "Can we all. get along?" You can. But when people do. things like that with How about the BBC? Where the BBC has me actually AI. They. have me saying a horrible statement. I. said, "I never said that." It turned out. they. gave me an AI a little AI achievement.

where they have my lips speaking words. of hate, tremendous hate that I never. said. They don't know what to do. They've admitted they're wrong. They. just don't know what to do. They. actually have me making a major. statement. And it wasn't me. It was my face. It was. my lips. My lips were perfectly in sync. with the words. I said, "I can't believe it. I can't. believe it." So, I hear you, Mr. President. >> then when you say, "Can you get along?". I can get along with anybody. But if.

people are going to cheat, if people are. going to be uh fake, uh. you sort of don't want to get along. On. that, what do you say to people who are. encouraging political violence or even. cheering it on? >> Well, I think the ones that are doing. that are. much more far left than far right. Much. more. Uh when you see again Southern. Law, when you see some of the statements. that are made that are so Even when you. say no kings, that's that's encouraging.

You're saying One of the things this guy. said in his manifesto, which you didn't. read, you should have, is that he. attended a No Kings. rally. along with not too many people. And probably it had an impact. You know, they get up and they say whatever they. want. No, I'm against that. I think it's. terrible. Um also at the dinner last night was. your secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Yeah. His sister, Kerry Kennedy, was. there. They've both witnessed their father and.

their uncle be assassinated. >> Erica Kirk was there. The House Majority Leader, Steve. Scalise, was there. Yeah. Political violence has touched so many. people. in that room. Is there something that you as president. can do? What can be done to change the. trajectory? >> you know, you go back. 20 years, 40 years, 100 years, 200. years, 500 years. It's always been there.

People are. assassinated. People are injured. People. are hurt. And I'm not sure that it's any more now. than there was. I do think that the hate. speech of the Democrats, much more so, is is very dangerous. I really think. it's very dangerous to the country. I think the fact that I've accomplished. so much, I've made our country great. again. I mean, this country was dead. Our country was dead a year and a half. ago. Sleepy Joe Biden had no idea what. he was doing. I don't think it was him, either. I. think it was the people that surround.

the. surround him in the Oval Office at the. beautiful Resolute Desk. I don't think. he knew what he was doing. He didn't. sign anything. He used the auto pen to. sign 90% of the things. Um I think that. they engendered I mean, they really. created a tremendous amount of anger and. hate. Our country was dead. And now we. have the hottest country anywhere in the. world. No, not even close. Last night. >> As an example, investments in our country for 4 years, less than $1 trillion under Biden. In 11.

months, $18 trillion under Trump. Now, most people are happy about that. But some people are really angry about. it. You know why? Because. it means we should be around for a long. time and they don't want that to happen. Last night you had a very much a tone of. of unity when you were in the White. House press briefing room. I think so. Yeah, I think. I really felt very calm. I feel very. calm. And I feel I feel very calm right. now other than a couple of your. questions which are meant to antagonize.

and totally inappropriate. But I feel. very calm. I thought last night was a very. important thing to do. And people have. said it was I did it well. Not an easy. thing to do, you know? You leave a scene. like that and then. you're supposed to. let our country even the world know that. it's going to be okay. And what about when we're talking about. the division in this country, the. political violence, now many of your. cabinet secretaries live on military.

bases. Yeah. In order to because of the. potential threats against them. Well, they choose to I'm not sure that. uh. they need to. They also have nice. places, you know. Mhm. Democrats did the. same thing. Some of the housing on the. military bases is very nice. I'm not. sure they do it necessarily for. violence, but probably this it's not the. worst thing in the world. Look, they're. they're doing we are consequential. This. is a consequential presidency. I have a.

great cabinet. And they do things that. are very good, but some people, you. know, if they're good for us, they're. not good for other people. Like as an. example, Iran they're not going to have. a nuclear weapon. It will not happen. They're not going to blow up the world. They're crazy. They're not going to blow. up the world. And therefore, they're not happy. And when they're not happy, people do. things that are violent. Now, I'm not. tracing anything back to them, but. certainly if they had a shot, they'd. probably take it. So, when you're a consequential president or. if you have a consequential.

administration, things happen that wouldn't happen if. you're Sleepy Joe Biden. Everyone was happy with Biden. The world. was happy. You know, in a way they were. happy because they were taking advantage. of us because they treated the United. States like we were stupid people. and they made a lot of money, but they. don't do that anymore. Last night was going to be your first. attendance at the White House. Correspondents Dinner. >> That's right. As president. >> looking forward to making a speech. Mhm.

And. >> have been a lot different had I gone up. and. had I stayed it was very interesting. because. I said, "I can't make that speech." I. was going to do a. pretty Tell me. >> rip-roaring Oh, I I I won't go into the. total details, but no, I was going to. hit people really hard with humor. In other words, really hard with humor. And I thought it was good. When this happened. and I wanted it to go forward cuz I just. didn't want it canceled by a crazy. person. Our country's too good for that. Our.

country's too important for that and too. powerful for that. I didn't want that to happen. But I said to him and I thought we'd go. up. I was expecting until the last. moment when. the military came and Secret Service and. law enforcement Why did they say you. couldn't go back when you were saying I. want to go back? >> because. we had a very sealed room. It was very. airtight. Once the doors opened and the Secret. Service, military, others came in, the. police came in, the law enforcement. they came in, a lot of them. We had a.

lot of law enforcement. And it was a. wall. But the doors were open. It was breached. by them. Mhm. If somebody happened to slip in. and when they said that, I said, "You're. right." But I did want to go up, but it. wouldn't have been a much different. speech. I would have had to just get up. and. say, "I love you all." Mhm. And there. was love in the room. It was amazing. There was love in the room. And why do. you think that is? Why do you think that. the tone changed? >> People came together. Democrats that. truly can't stand me.

were. saying, "Sir, could I just shake your. hand?" I mean, I'm I'm leaving and I'm. seeing people, you know, high-level. people. And they're saying, "Sir, great job. Sir, could I One of them I don't want to You. probably have it on tape someplace. One. of them said, "Could I hug you?". A big politician on the other side. There was love. It just all came together. It was very. amazing to see. It was. a very beautiful thing at a.

non-beautiful moment, really, but it was. a very beautiful thing that was. happening. >> Mhm. I hesitate to ask you about this, but as. you know, these conspiracy theories out. there on the left and the right that the. event was staged or that it didn't. happen. What did Last night didn't. happen? That uh yeah, that it was. because it was your first time there or. that butler didn't happen. These. conspiracy theories that are gaining. traction on the internet. >> 7th didn't happen and. World War II didn't happen and the. Holocaust didn't happen and.

many things didn't happen. Yeah, no, here. I I don't know. I I think they're more. sick than they are con people, but. there's a lot of con in it, too. I. haven't heard that last night didn't. happen. What usually it takes a little. bit longer. Yeah. Usually they wait. about two or three months to start. saying that. I think that it was I think. that and forgive me, I'm not I don't. peddle in that stuff or certainly look. at it cuz we I was there. Um but the idea I'm wondering where this. is coming from. >> This is coming from. >> a tough. That'd be a tough sell. Yeah.

Secret Service now is currently meeting. as they always do to discuss your. security footprint. The king is coming. here. King of England. >> I think it's great. He'll be very safe. here. Yeah. And You know, the event will. be able to go go forward. You're no no. concerns about security going forward. The White House grounds are really safe. This area of. not very many acres. It's really safe. And he'll be staying here. Now, I. believe he's. going to a couple of other locations cuz.

he's here for a few days. He's a great guy. Oh, he they called and and they are so. looking forward to being here. Mhm. He. spoke this morning. So, he the the king. is fine. He's still coming. The week. your your events are still going. forward. >> He's a good He's a good person. There's. no indication from the Secret Service or. the FBI that there's an additional. threat to you or other administration. officials. >> No. No. This was a. lone wolf in my opinion. Um we may find. out something else. This was a sick lone. wolf. He's a sicko.

And. very disturbed person. You could see it. with his. uh journey through life. I mean, he was. a Christian. He was a. uh a member of the Christian club at his. college, Caltech, which is a good. college. I'm sure they're very. embarrassed by this because you know, it's a great college. Uh. So, it means he's pretty smart to be in. And you got to got to get pretty good. marks. Got to get pretty good board. scores. It's a hard school to get into. So, he's a smart guy, but he's a sick. guy. Mhm.

Yeah, that's the problem. I mean, it. would be a lot easier if they weren't. smart. Some of them are very smart. And uh. they go around and all they want to do. is kill people. They're sick. And they have to be put. away. I understand today is the First Lady's. birthday. Is that right? >> Today's her birthday, yes. Happy birthday. Happy birthday, Melania. >> [snorts]. >> It's today's her birthday. How how how. does that How do you How do you deal. with that after after what happened last. night? >> Yeah, but at that we get back here at. like around 12:00 and I said, "Happy.

birthday, darling." Mhm. And you were back here in the White. House, I understand, in 5 minutes. Well, they they move fast, yeah. Yeah, they. move fast. >> I mean, look, it's a pretty quick drive. It's not very far away. But think of it, the security of having. this really perfect facility built at. the highest highest security levels on. the grounds. where you're not taking I'm talking. about any president. By the way, other. presidents would use the ballroom. a lot more than me. I'm going to have.

four or five months left, but other. presidents would be having having the. the. you know, that tremendous asset is going. to be so great. But. outside of that, it's dangerous. You. know, you need tremendous that you could. never build. You can't have thousands of. rooms on top of a ballroom and have. security, real security. Now, with that. being said, I hope they do this event again and I. hope they do it again soon. You are. committed to doing this event with the. White House Correspondents Dinner. It's.

about freedom of the press. >> them because I don't want to see it be. canceled. I don't want to have. a crazy person. I think it's really bad. for a crazy person to be able to cancel. something like this to You know, I I. remember with. a certain event that took place. I don't. even like mentioning it where they had. sports games going on. And it was a big decision, do we cancel. the games or do we not? And when you cancel, you're sort of. playing right into the hands of these. nut jobs and they are they really sick. people.

I don't want to have. an event like that. It was a great. event. That was an event I So, I refused. to do it the first 4 years cuz I felt. the press treated me very unfairly. I. had the right not to do it. I didn't do. it and the thing died. It was dying. And I. even though the press. treats me pretty badly, uh it's hard to treat me Look, I won the. election, you know. People were fighting. me, everybody Not everybody. I I have. some There are great people in the. press, too. I could name, but I don't. want to. I don't want to embarrass your show. We.

have some great people in the press and. very fair people and people that are. just on my side. But for the most part, it's a very liberal or a very. progressive Let's use the word liberal. liberal press. But uh. I was just really. I was really happy to see the the. I don't know how long it'll last. The relationship, the friendship, the. spirit. after a very bad event took place. Now, the event turned out to be much less bad. because nobody was killed, nobody was.

hurt. The Secret Service agent. had I spoke to him, he had a a. bulletproof vest on. Unbelievable. He's. okay. Oh, he's 100% Yeah, no, he was. 100% He didn't want to go to the. hospital. He really didn't. They asked him to go. He didn't want to go. He said, "I don't. need to go to the hospital.". But he went because they asked him to. go. I would have said to tell him not to. If he doesn't want to go, what do you. force him to go for? Because then the press would say, "Oh, he was badly hurt.". No, he didn't want to go to the hospital. and they forced him to go. And I'm not. saying they're wrong, but I would have.

said, "If he doesn't want to go, don't. make him go.". Well, I know the White House. Correspondents Association very much. appreciates you. going last night. and honoring a commitment to do it. again. >> do it again, Nora. Tell him to get it. going and we should do it within 30 days. and they'll have even more security and. they'll have bigger perimeter security. It'll be fine. But tell them to do it. again. We can't let something be It's. not that I want to go. It's I have I'm.

very busy. I don't need that. I think it's very. important that they do it again. Well, thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. >> much.