President Donald Trump described the Washington Hilton Hotel, where the Washington Correspondents Dinner was being held, as “not a particularly secure building,” and added that “we need the ballroom.”
During a press conference, hours after shots were heard at the hotel – leading to Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and several other Cabinet members being escorted out – Trump spoke about the need for the ballroom. Trump expressed that there was a need for “levels of security that probably nobody’s ever seen before.”
“We looked at all of the conditions that took place tonight, and I will say, it’s not a particularly secure building,” Trump said. “I didn’t want to say this, but this is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House.”
“It’s actually a larger room,” Trump added, speaking about the ballroom at the White House. Trump pointed out that the ballroom at the White House would be “much more secure” and have “bullet proof glass.”
A federal appeals court recently ruled that construction on the White House ballroom could move forward, after a judge previously halted “part of the $400 million project.”
In October, it was reported that the East Wing of the White House had been demolished in order to build the ballroom there.
Trump’s comments come after shots were heard while the White House Correspondents Dinner was taking place.
The shooting reportedly took place “on the floor above where the dinner was being held,” CNN’s Wolf Blitzer said, according to WTOP News:
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer reports that the shooting occured on the floor above where the dinner was being held. Blitzer said he was very close to the gunman and that a police officer threw him to the ground in an effort to protect him.
“A guy with a very, very serious weapon starts shooting. I happened to be a few feet away from him,” Blitzer said, adding that the shooter was shooting randomly.
After the incident, Trump shared that law enforcement had “requested” that people “leave the premises, consistent with protocol.” Trump also confirmed that the Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and all Cabinet officials were “in perfect condition.
