‘Do I look rattled?’ Trump in White House gun drama
⬤ DONALD TRUMP was mocked today for claiming the Spanish Flu “in 1917” was “probably” what ended the Second World War. The war ended in 1945. The pandemic occurred the same year as the end of the First World War — 1918. Mr Trump said: “The closest thing is in 1917, they say, the great pandemic. It certainly was a terrible thing ... probably ended the Second World War.”
DONALD TRUMP was escorted out of a news conference after a secret service agent shot and wounded a man who claimed to be armed outside the White House.
The President was rushed away from the televised briefing five minutes after it began amid fears his life could be in danger. Two shots had been heard outside the building.
Mr Trump returned nine minutes later saying there had been a shooting. Asked whether he was shaken, he said: “I don’t know. Do I seem rattled?”
Later, the secret service said that a 51-year-old man had dashed up to one of its officers in Pennsylvania Avenue at 5.53pm local time yesterday.
“The suspect approached the officer and told the officer he had a weapon. The suspect then turned around, ran aggressively toward the officer, and in a drawing motion, withdrew an object from his clothing,” the secret service said. “He then crouched into a shooter’s stance as if about to fire a weapon. The officer discharged his weapon striking the individual in the torso.”
Mr Trump said he understood the man had a gun but reports later suggested he was not armed. Police are investigating claims he had a history of
mental health problems. The suspect and the agent were taken to hospital but no details were released about their condition. The secret service said the President’s life was never in danger.
At the briefing, a secret service officer had stopped Mr Trump mid-sentence to ask him to leave, saying: “There’s been a shooting outside.”
“Excuse me?” said the President. “Sir, you are going to have to step outside,” the agent repeated. “Oh,” said Mr Trump as he left without explanation.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought were also led out.
When he returned, Mr Trump said he had been taken to the Oval Office and praised the secret service for their “very effective work”. He added: “I don’t think the person breached anything… It might not have had anything to do with me.”