President Donald Trump walked right back into the White House briefing room after a shooting derailed his initial remarks.
Trump took several questions about the interruption when he returned to the briefing room Monday, explaining to reporters that he had never considered scrapping the news conference altogether. (RELATED: President Trump Abruptly Rushed Out Of News Conference)
WATCH:
“Were you rattled at all by this?” one reporter asked as Trump explained what had happened outside.
“Do I seem rattled? It’s unfortunate that this is the world, but the world has always been a dangerous place. It’s not something that’s unique. The world has been, you look back over the centuries, the world has been a dangerous place,” Trump said noting that he felt very safe with the Secret Service outside protecting him and everyone else.
“Why did you decide after that, because obviously it created a lot of commotion. What made you decide to continue the briefing?” another reporter asked.
“I didn’t even think about not coming back,” Trump replied. “I said, ‘Am I able to go back?’ and they said, ‘You’d have to wait a little while.’ So I waited a little while, as you know, in the Oval Office area, and I said, ‘Can I get back now?’ And they said yes.”
The president had just begun his remarks when several Secret Service agents whisked him out of the briefing room — reports quickly surfaced that shots had been fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
Sounded like a gun shot right outside the White House. Secret service making press clear the lawn. Law enforcement holding guns everywhere. pic.twitter.com/KQx6HWcKij
— @skylerhenry (@SkylerHenry) August 10, 2020
After a short delay, the president returned to the briefing room and confirmed that shots had been fired and that a suspect had been shot by Secret Service agents. He noted that the suspect was on the way to the hospital and thanked the Secret Service for a job well done before returning to his remarks.