UFC President Dana White Describes White House Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting as ‘F***ing Awesome’

UFC president Dana White found himself in the midst of chaos at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where he described the shooting incident as “f***ing awesome.” As he and other attendees were evacuated from the Washington Hilton, White recounted the scene.

“It started getting noisy. Tables getting flipped over, guys running in with guns,” White, 56, said while exiting the venue. “They were screaming ‘Get down!’ but I didn’t get down. It was f***ing awesome. I literally took every minute of it in. It was a pretty crazy unique experience.”

Among those evacuated were high-profile figures including President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and First Lady Melania Trump. The evacuation occurred on Saturday, April 25, after shots were reported near the venue’s main magnetometer, according to the Secret Service.

“We were sitting right in front of where the president was,” White continued. “Guys came in looking for shooters. They came towards our table. I thought the shooter was over by us or something. It was a unique experience.”

Prior to the shooting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt hinted at “shots fired” during Trump’s speech, seemingly alluding to the content of his remarks. “Trump is ready to rumble,” Leavitt stated on the red carpet. “I will tell you, this speech tonight will be classic Donald J. Trump.”

Leavitt added, “The speech will be funny. It will be entertaining. There will be some shots fired tonight in the room.” However, Trump did not get the opportunity to deliver his speech after the evacuation, despite expressing his desire to do so.

Later, Trump addressed reporters at the White House, stating he felt “honored” to be a target of the attack. “When you look at our great presidents, [this] doesn’t happen to people who don’t do anything,” Trump remarked.

He elaborated on his experience during the incident: “I was totally shocked when something like this happens. It happened to me a little bit, and that never changes. The fact, we were sitting right next to each other, first lady [Melania Trump] on my right, and I heard a noise… I thought it was a tray going down and it was a pretty loud noise and it was from quite far away.”

Authorities confirmed that a 31-year-old man was arrested in connection with the shooting and faces multiple charges, including two counts of using a firearm and one count of assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.

Trump later confirmed via Truth Social that he, Melania, and other cabinet members—including Leavitt—were safe after being evacuated. One Secret Service agent sustained injuries but was wearing protective gear and was taken to a hospital for treatment; Trump noted that the agent was “saved” due to this gear.

The remainder of the event was canceled, as stated by White House Correspondents’ President Weijia Jiang, but plans are underway to reschedule it within the next 30 days.