Opinion

BRET BAIER: Ahead of 250th, America has witnessed triumph of resilience over despair

Saturday's shooting, Trump's unity message, and King Charles' speech to Congress days later were a display of our grace and grit

By Bret Baier Fox News

Published May 1, 2026 6:00am EDT

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Bret Baier shares firsthand account of 'chaos' at White House Correspondents' Dinner

'Special Report' anchor Bret Baier shares his firsthand account of what happened at the White House Correspondents' Dinner amid an active shooting.

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The president and first lady had just sat down on the dais at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner on Saturday. The color guard had left the room after "Hail to the Chief" and the National Anthem, and now we all took our seats and started the first course.

There was an upbeat mood in the large ballroom for the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner. At a front table near the dais, I was seated next to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on one side and Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott on the other. My wife, Amy, was two seats away next to the secretary’s wife.

We had just passed the breadbasket around the table while making small talk when the sound of four distinct pops rang out in the distance, and the room seemed to freeze.

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Seconds later, U.S. Secret Service agents were running down the center aisle, some on top of tables, with plates crashing to the ground while people were screaming, "Get down!" My wife and the secretary’s wife hid under the table; the secretary’s security detail was on top of him in seconds. The president, the first lady, and the vice president were whisked off the stage as agents in full tactical gear with long guns ran to the front of the dais and pointed their rifles over the crowd, scanning for any shooters.

No one was hurt.

Law enforcement personnel detain Cole Tomas Allen, a suspect in the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, in Washington, D.C., U.S. April 25, 2026.  (Donald J Trump via Truth Social/Handout via Reuters)

The shooter was stopped before making it into the massive ballroom. But the trauma of that moment, the latest assassination attempt on President Trump, was real for anyone in that room.

Across America, I could easily imagine people wailing in despair and........

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