60 Minutes: Trump Loses It Over WHCD Shooter's Manifesto Question
· BCPosted in: CBS, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: 60 minutes, opinion, trump
60 Minutes: Trump Loses It Over WHCD Shooter's Manifesto Question
Donald Trump lashed out at 60 Minutes' Norah O'Donnell after being asked about the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooter's manifesto.
Published Sun, 26 Apr 2026 20:46:11 -0500
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary
- On 60 Minutes, Norah O’Donnell pressed Donald Trump on the WHCD shooter’s manifesto and alleged motive.
- Trump erupted after O’Donnell read lines about a “pedophile, rapist, and traitor,” insisting they were false.
- The 60 Minutes interview turned combative as Trump accused CBS and O’Donnell of shaming him on-air.
- Trump also disputed reports he fell during the evacuation, saying agents told him and Melania to hit the floor.
A little less than 24 hours after a chaotic situation at Saturday night's White House Correspondents' Dinner, which saw Donald Trump, Melania Trump, and a number of government officials evacuated after a gunman was apprehended, Trump sat down for a one-on-one with CBS's 60 Minutes' Norah O'Donnell to discuss the night and the suspect currently in custody. But it was Trump's response to excerpts from the suspect's reported manifesto that were read to him by O'Donnell that got Trump angry and playing defense.
"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 am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.' What's your reaction to that?" O'Donnell asked. "Well, I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would because you're … horrible people. Horrible people. Yeah, he did write that. I'm not a rapist. I didn't rape anybody," Trump responded, agitated.
"Oh, you think you think he was referring to you?" O'Donnell asked, regarding Trump's assumption that the words were in reference to him.
Trump continued, "I'm not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person? I got associated with … 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, he's a sick person. But you should be ashamed of yourself reading that because I'm not any of those things."
Despite a number of videos calling his account into question, Trump claimed he never fell – one, twice, or three times – while security was evacuating him from the ballroom. "What happened is, then I started walking with him. 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. We were asked to go down by the agents as I was walking," Trump explained.
After O'Donnell looked to clarify that they wanted him to almost crawl, Trump added, "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, you know, I'm not looking to be standing too tall, but I was walking out. It 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."
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