President Donald Trump and ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl offered sharply conflicting accounts of a phone call that may or may not have taken place the morning after the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner shooting.
Donald Trump says he did not call ABC reporter after WHCD shooting
President Trump denied calling ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl after the shooting near the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Karl posted a video to X on April 26. He said Trump called him just after 7 a.m. EDT. Karl claimed Trump asked if he was “okay.”
More than a week later, Trump disputed the account on his Truth Social platform. He wrote that Karl “made a statement that I called him early in the morning.” Trump questioned why he would make such a call. He insisted the attack targeted him, not Karl.
Trump claimed Karl actually called him instead. He said he did not take Karl’s call. Trump accused Karl of “very dishonest reporting.” He also said Karl was “trying to make himself look important.” He added that this “comes from ABC Fake News.”
Karl and Trump often speak by phone, including on Monday. During that conversation, Trump said Iranian drones and missiles fired at the UAE “were shot down for the most part.” He also said South Korea “should take some action” after Iranian forces struck a Korean cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Karl previously said Trump emphasized “unity” the morning after the incident. Trump also said the WHCA dinner must be rescheduled. Several White House correspondents told CNN the dinner should happen again. WHCA president Weijia Jiang told members the board is exploring options for a rescheduled event.
Suspect Cole Allen, 31, faces charges of attempting to assassinate Trump and federal firearms violations. Allen appeared in court on Monday for a detention hearing. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said investigators “definitively” determined the bullet striking a Secret Service agent came from the alleged gunman.
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on Mandatory.com.
