Melania Trump advocated for postponing White House Correspondents’ Dinner after shooting
WASHINGTON, DC: After gunshots erupted at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in what was described as an attempt on her husband’s life, Melania Trump made it clear that the show should not go on.
Marc Beckman, the exclusive senior adviser to the first lady, revealed to The People that Melania was "calm, decisive, and in full control" when chaos broke out in the Washington Hilton ballroom and believed that postponing the event was the ‘right thing to do’.
The 53-year-old first lady, accompanied by President Donald Trump and hundreds of other attendees, had gathered for a glitzy annual event for White House staff and the press on Saturday, April 25, when the suspect, identified as Cole Allen, charged through a security perimeter and opened fire near the security screening area.
Melania Trump was ‘advocating within the room’
As Allen exchanged gunfire with the Secret Service, which led to one agent getting shot in the chest, Melania and other "key officials" in the Trump administration were led to a secure room within the hotel to regroup, Beckman said.
The discussion quickly turned to what should happen next, as 2,600 bewildered guests huddled under tables in the ballroom, waiting for guidance.
Beckman said at that moment, Melania believed "the right thing to do" was to halt the event to ensure attendees' safety and reschedule it to any future date.
"And she was advocating within the room for that type of a stance," he added.
It’s unclear how long the deliberations lasted, but Melania’s stance did not appear to be unanimously supported.
The first formal update came from Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, who took the stage shortly after the disruption to tell guests the program would proceed as planned.
"I know everyone's going to want as many details as possible," Jiang said at the time, adding, "We will have more details to share also momentarily. For now, please just be patient as we figure out just how much time it will be."
Even her husband, President Trump’s first social media post included that he had "recommended that we 'LET THE SHOW GO ON' but, will entirely be guided by Law Enforcement."
Melania Trump was not happy with her husband’s decision
Beckman noted that Melania was clearly not in support of the President’s decision to continue with the event. "She realized that it was going to take a while for the United States Secret Service to go ahead and carry through with their protocol under such conditions," he remarked.
"It was important for her to take the lead in that room and share her point of view.”
“She realized that it would be in everybody's best interests, including Secret Service, to take their time, do everything correctly, and call it for the night, ensure that everybody is safe, and then to regroup with regard to having the ceremony in the near future," Beckman added.
Ultimately, a unanimous decision was made to postpone the dinner. When Trump first addressed the public, he didn’t speak about the previous decision of continuing the event, but mentioned that he now had major concerns about the security of the Washington Hilton.
"We looked at all of the conditions that took place tonight, and I will say, you know, it's not a particularly secure building," he said, adding, "And 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 [ballroom]. It's actually a larger room, and it's much more secure."
