Donald Trump reportedly recalled the evacuation moment involving JD Vance during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, stating that Secret Service agents held the vice president “like a baby” while protecting and escorting him out of the venue after gunshots were fired. These remarks came after Trump earlier explained why Vance was removed from the event before him.
Donald Trump jokes about Secret Service and JD Vance
During a conversation at the Police Week event in the Rose Garden, Donald Trump appreciated the Secret Service agents for their quick protection amid the dangerous incident at the WHCD event. He said, “They had great professional people, and they came out within seconds.”
Describing how the agents approached Vance and escorted him out to a safe place, he explained, “I saw them take JD by the shoulders and lift him up like he was a little boy. I said ‘how come they didn’t lift me up so fast?’ They lifted JD — got ripped out of the chair. That was a view of the week, but they did the job, JD, right? I think so” (via The Independent).
At the WHCD event, the Secret Service agent reportedly held Vance by the shoulders and pulled him back to get him moving. Later, he instantly ran off the stage, followed by another team of agents. However, Trump was still seated until the agents later came and removed him from the stage.
In a conversation with CBS News’s Norah O’Donnell on 60 Minutes, Trump addressed the delay in his rescue mission, clarifying why Vance was escorted before the president. “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 them. I wanted to see what was going on. And by that time, we started to realize maybe it was a bad problem, a different kind of problem, a bad one,” he elaborated.
Trump claimed that he stayed behind for a while to assess the situation, which may have caused the people around him to move more slowly. However, he later complied with the agents’ directions, walked away from the area, and also got down on the floor to protect himself.
Originally reported by Shazmeen Navrange on Mandatory.
