U.S. President Donald Trump has insisted he "wasn't worried" amid the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner over the weekend.
During the annual event held at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. on Saturday night, the American leader, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and others, were evacuated by the Secret Service after gunshots were fired near the main security screening area.
In an interview filmed at the White House for 60 Minutes on Sunday, journalist Norah O'Donnell began by asking Trump why it took around 30 seconds for agents to escort him from the ballroom.
"I wasn't worried. I understand life. We live in a crazy world," he said. "Well, what happened is it was a little bit me. I wanted to see what was happening, and I wasn't making it that easy for him. I wanted to see what was going on. And by that time, we started to realise maybe it was a bad problem, different kind of a problem, (a) bad one. And different than what would be normal noise from a ballroom, which you hear all the time. And I was surrounded by great people, and I probably made them act a little bit more slowly. I said, 'Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Let me see, wait a minute.'"
Trump went on to recall how the agents urged him to "pretty much" crawl out of the building.
"I was standing up, and then turned around the opposite direction and started pretty much walking out, pretty tall, a little bent over, because, you know, I'm not looking to be standing too tall but I was walking out," the 79-year-old continued. "It was pretty about halfway there, and they said, 'Please go down to the floor. Please go down to the floor.' So I dropped to the floor. So did the First Lady."
However, the interview took a turn when Trump called O'Donnell a "disgrace" for reading out part of the alleged gunman's manifesto.
"You know, he's a sick person. But you should be ashamed of yourself reading that because I'm not any of those things," he stated, before agreeing to finish the conversation.
One officer was struck amid the shooting but was wearing a bullet-resistant vest and is expected to make a full recovery.
Police officials have identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen.
The 31-year-old is expected to face charges of using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.
