Donald Trump's nervous reaction after the attack at the Correspondents' Dinner: “I'm not a pedophile”
President Donald Trump lashed out at CBS News journalist Norah O'Donnell in an interview broadcast Sunday after she quoted from the manifesto of the alleged attacker who tried to break into the White House Correspondents' Dinner less than 24 hours earlier.
Trump gave his first interview since the attack at the Correspondents' Dinner PHOTO GettyImages
Trump had initially expressed a sense of solidarity with members of the press corps who had hosted him at the annual event and who had experienced the same initial panic when armed law enforcement agents entered the ballroom.
But when O'Donnell, in a taped interview at the White House, quoted from Cole Allen's alleged manifesto — “I am no longer willing to allow a pedophile, rapist and traitor to stain my hands with his crimes” — Trump, who until then had responded relatively restrained, reacted with anger.
“I was waiting for you to read this because I knew you would, because you are horrible people. Horrible people”Trump said. “Yes, he wrote that. I'm not a rapist. I haven't raped anyone.”
O'Donnell chimed in: “You think he meant you?”
But the president ignored the question and declared: “I'm not a pedophile.”
Trump was irritated by what he perceived as an insinuation related to his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, which was not mentioned either in the manifesto or by the journalist, notes POLITICO. “You're reading this crap from a sick person”he said. “I have been associated with things that have nothing to do with me. I have been completely exonerated.”
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O'Donnell had previously asked him if the dinner experience would change his relationship with the press. Trump responded evasively, claiming that most journalists are left-leaning and oppose his policies on immigration and crime.
But his harsh reaction moments later provided a much clearer answer.
“You should be ashamed of yourself for reading this because I am none of those things”Trump said. “You shouldn't be reading this on '60 Minutes.' You're a disgrace.”
The annual White House Correspondents' Dinner was abruptly interrupted by loud noises Saturday night in Washington. The approximately 2,600 guests, as well as Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, took shelter. The president and his wife were urgently evacuated by the secret agents.
Later, the entire hall was evacuated, as were members of the American government, from the head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, to the head of American diplomacy, Marco Rubio, and Vice President JD Vance.
