For as long as I can remember, the White House correspondents’ dinner was where the Washington press corps and Washington officials basked in each other’s celebrity.

Saturday night’s dinner ended abruptly with gunshots, Secret Service officers screaming at attendees to “get down”, Donald Trump and other officials being rapidly ushered out of the ballroom, plates crashing and chairs falling, and general pandemonium.

Saturday night, the celebrities became normal people feeling panic and fear.

Most of the time, Washington is a stage on which actors take on roles and dress up for assigned parts. I remember wearing an uncomfortable tuxedo to the White House correspondents’ dinner, trying to make pleasant conversation with........

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