Political violence upends the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
From The Excerpt by USA TODAY
April 28, 2026 · 13 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the impact of political violence on the White House Correspondents' Dinner and features insights from Susan Page.
The setting was the same as it’s always been: the elegant ballroom in the basement of the Washington Hilton. There, the president, vice president and other high-ranking officials gathered with around 2500 guests to celebrate freedom of speech. But instead of being a light-hearted gala as it had been in the past, fear and pandemonium soon reigned. The White House Correspondents Association dinner on Saturday marked the third time since the summer of 2024 that a gunman was able to get dangerously close to now-president Donald Trump . Was security to blame? And what were the gunman’s motives? USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page joins The Excerpt to share her personal experience and insights. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com . Episode transcript available here . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
People in this episode
Guest: Susan Page
Topics covered
- political violence
- White House Correspondents' Dinner
- freedom of speech
- security concerns
- gunman motives
Keywords
- political violence
- White House Correspondents' Dinner
- Donald Trump
- security
- gunman
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: White House Correspondents Association
Places: Washington Hilton
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