First lady Melania Trump’s senior advisor is opening up about how the first lady reacted the night an armed suspect stormed the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in an alleged effort to assassinate President Donald Trump and administration officials.
“She was not frightened. She was in full control. She knew what had to be done,” senior advisor Marc Beckman told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview.
Chaos broke out at the Washington Hilton Saturday evening just as the annual event was kicking off, when an armed suspect stormed the event in what authorities say was an attempt to assassinate the president. The incident prompted Secret Service agents to rush the president and first lady from the room as guests scrambled for cover.
While this was not the first attempt on Trump’s life, it was the first time his wife was present.
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“She’s a strong person. She was not injured. Nobody was hurt, fortunately. She was really happy at the end of the day that everyone, in fact, in that room was in good health and was not injured,” he added.
Beckman said the first lady quickly took cover at the Secret Service’s direction and then urged others at the table to do the same.
During the chaos, a moment of shock appeared on the first lady’s face, with many assuming it was in reaction to the gunshots.
Beckman, however, said it was due to something different.
“She was learning that the mentalist [Oz Pearlman] was able to guess what Karoline Leavitt’s child, soon-to-be child, was going to be named, which is remarkable. It’s shocking. Hence, the expression. Coupled with literally Secret Service charging through the center of the room,” said Beckman.
The first lady joined her husband and administration officials in the briefing room after they were evacuated from the dinner.
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During an educational event with the Queen of England and students Tuesday at the White House, Trump told members of the media she was doing “very well” after the assassination attempt.
Beckman shared that Trump echoes her husband’s stance that the Secret Service did their job well Saturday.
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“The Secret Service is of very great value to the first lady. She holds them out with the highest level of respect,” he said. “They’ve done a tremendous job time and time again.
“She has a tremendous amount of respect for the Secret Service, the military and beyond,” Beckman added.
Beckman shared that Trump is well aware of the risks that follow being a member of the first family.
“She’s very proud to be first lady. She’s very hard-working, she’s decisive and she’s going to keep pressing ahead,” he said.
