Men in tuxedos and women in dresses dove under tables, like a scene from a dozen Hollywood movies, but now it was happening to me
Shocking. Unnerving. Unpredictable. Violent. For a decade I have been following the twists and turns of Donald Trump’s America with the privilege of journalistic distance. On Saturday night I felt the darkness come viscerally close.
Bang! Bang! What was that? Where was it? At 8.36pm panic and pandemonium reigned in the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton hotel. There were men running and cries of “Get down!” and “Stay down!”
I saw guests at the White House Correspondents’ Association’s (WHCA) annual dinner – men in tuxedos, women in dresses – diving under the circular tables and, almost as if acting on a cue, did likewise. It was a scene from a dozen Hollywood movies but now it was happening to me, right here, right now.
Secret Service agents raced through the room, wielding weapons. There was an eerie silence. By the time I rose to look at the dais, Donald and Melania Trump had already been rushed away. Instead, there were four officers with helmets and rifles standing guard against a backdrop of a White House image and the words: “Celebrating the first amendment.”
