Trump responded to details of the withdrawal from the banquet, saying that the gunman "is sick".

After the sudden shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on the 26th, President Trump gave a media interview, describing the shooter as "very extreme" and "seriously ill." When asked about his temporary "fall" during the evacuation process, Trump argued that he followed Secret Service agents' instructions to "get down on the ground." In an interview with the American Columbia Broadcasting Company, Trump said he read the shooter's "manifesto" and felt that the shooter was "very extreme." "From what he wrote, it seems he has gone through a lot... his family was unhappy with him, and I think they even reported him to the police... he may be seriously ill." When a reporter read the shooter's accusations against Trump in his "manifesto," Trump denied them, calling the shooter a "crazy person." Trump described the scene of the shooting, saying, "He ran too fast, when you watch the video, he's almost like a blur, I think the NFL should sign him." The video shows that Vice President Pence was escorted away during the incident, while Trump stayed in place. Trump responded: "Part of this is my fault, I wanted to see what was happening... we quickly realized this could be a serious problem... I may have slowed down their actions a little bit." When asked about the moment he was brought out by Secret Service agents and briefly "fell," Trump explained that he was walking out, and halfway through the agents said, "Please get down on the ground, please get down on the ground," "so I got down on the ground, and the First Lady did too."