“FOUGHT LIKE HELL”
The entire room was ordered evacuated, and several hundred guests made their way into the Hilton lobby and out into the chilly air.
Guests were seen hugging, making calls, texting friends and loved ones, and their news bureaux.
Trump’s motorcade zoomed out of the Hilton a few minutes after 8:40 pm and headed for the White House.
Correspondents then raced to the mansion for a hastily arranged presidential press conference.
Trump, still in a black tie, appeared at the podium in the White House briefing room with Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, FBI chief Kash Patel and other top officials.
“I fought like hell to stay” at the dinner but Secret Service agents said he had to leave, said Trump, who narrowly escaped an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024
Trump added, however, that the gala would be rescheduled.
“We’re going to do it again,” said Trump. “We’re not gonna let anyone take over our society.”