When senior White House officials gathered to decide the fate of this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner following a shooting outside the venue, Melania Trump made her position clear: the evening should end. Marc Beckman, described as the first lady’s exclusive senior advisor, told People magazine in an interview published on 2 May that Melania, 56, actively argued her case in the room.
“She was advocating within the room for that type of stance,” Beckman said, adding that she believed cancelling the dinner was simply “the right thing to do” in the wake of the incident. Her husband saw it differently. Shortly after a 31-year-old man armed with a shotgun, handgun and several knives stormed a security checkpoint outside the Washington Hilton’s ballroom on 25 April, President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform.
“Quite an evening in D.C. Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job,” he wrote. “They acted quickly and bravely. The shooter has been apprehended, and I have recommended that we ‘LET THE SHOW GO ON’ but, will entirely be guided by Law Enforcement. They will make a decision shortly. Regardless of that decision, the evening will be much different than planned, and we’ll just, plain, have to do it again.”
The California man has since been charged with multiple crimes, including attempting to assassinate the president, after a manifesto sent to his family detailed his grievances with the Trump administration. Ultimately, law enforcement made the call. White House Correspondents’ Association president Weijia Jiang had initially told attendees the programme would resume shortly, but later announced that authorities had requested everyone leave the premises.
The event was formally cancelled. Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House afterward, said it would be rescheduled within 30 days. Beckman told People that throughout the chaos — including the moment Secret Service agents escorted the Trumps off the stage — the first lady remained composed. She was, he said, “calm, decisive, and in full control.”
Several other senior administration figures were also evacuated, including Vice President JD Vance and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy’s wife, actress Cheryl Hines, later described the scene on Instagram.
“We were there and we heard shots, and everybody got under the tables.
Nobody knew what was going on,” Hines recalled. “And then you know, Bobby’s security detail surrounded us and took us. I mean, really, like, had to lift me over chairs because I’m in heels and a gown. And they took us through all of the back ways and we got in the car and left.”
She signed off the post on a lighter note: “I’m in my pajamas now. Watching the news break, just like you guys. Um, but everybody stays [sic] safe.” The White House had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
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