President Trump called CBS News anchor Nora O’Donnell “a disgrace” during a “60 Minutes” interview Sunday after she read a passage from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner gunman’s manifesto, which appeared to label him a “pedophile, rapist and traitor.”
“He’s a sick person, but you should be ashamed of yourself reading that, because I’m not any of those things,” Mr. Trump said. “You shouldn’t be reading that in ’60 Minutes.’ You’re a disgrace. But go ahead, let’s finish the interview.”
Law enforcement officails said the suspect – Cole Tomas Allen, a 31‑year‑old teacher from Torrance, California – left behind a manifesto, describing himself as “Friendly Federal Assassin” and saying he was targeting members of the Trump administration, from the highest-ranking to the lowest.
“I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,” he wrote, never mentioning Mr. Trump by name.
Mr. Trump, however, made it clear he believed he was the intended target.
He rejected the claims outright, saying he had been “totally exonerated” and arguing that Democrats were the ones connected to figures like convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein died in prison awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges that have hung over Washington, and created political headaches for Mr. Trump.
“I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody. Excuse me, I’m not a pedophile,” he said after Ms. O’Donnell tried to jump into the conversation. “You read that crap from some sick person.”
Officials say Mr. Allen emailed a manifesto to his family minutes before the attack.
Mr. Trump said the attacker seemed radicalized and described him as someone who had undergone a dramatic shift.
“He was a Christian believer, and then he became an anti‑Christian,” Mr. Trump said. “He’s been going through a lot based on what he wrote.”
He also revealed that he resisted Secret Service agents during the evacuation, slowing down their efforts as he tried to understand what was happening.
“I wasn’t making it that easy for him,” Mr. Trump said. “I said, ‘Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Let me see.’”
Agents eventually directed him and first lady Melania Trump to drop to the floor as they moved them out of the ballroom.
“When they said, ‘drop down,’ that meant trouble,” the president said.
Mr. Trump said the first lady stayed calm throughout the ordeal, even as the moment grew tense.
“She’s very strong, smart. She got it,” he said.
Asked what he can do as president to reduce political violence, Mr. Trump said the nation’s history is littered with violece and pointed to Democrats.
“I do think that the hate speech of the Democrats, much more so, is very dangerous,” he said. “I really think it’s very dangerous for the country.”
Despite the attack, he said he wants the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner rescheduled within 30 days, with tighter security.
“We can’t let something — it’s not that I want to go, I’m very busy, I don’t need that. I think it’s very important that they do it again,” he said.
After an earlier assassination attempt, in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, Mr. Trump made a point of coming back to the same site for a campaign rally that October.
His first words were “as I was saying.”
