Dana White, president and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), was present for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting on Saturday, April 25, and he called the experience “f***ing awesome.”
“It started getting noisy,” White told reporters, including NBC News’ Ryan J. Reilly, after the incident. “Tables getting flipped over, guys running in with guns. And 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.”
He added: “We were sitting right in front of the table, right in front of where the president was. Guys came in, looking for shooters. They came toward our table. I thought the shooter was over by us or something, but no. … It was a unique experience.”
Dana White on the incident at the White House Correspondents Dinner: pic.twitter.com/IPa0QKDGCd
— follow @ryanjreilly on bluesky, signal in bio (@ryanjreilly) April 26, 2026
Social media users clapped back at White’s assessment of the incident. “What a bulls*** thing to say,” one X user wrote. “It was ‘awesome,’ was it? … Makes a big difference when you’re not the target, eh, chucklehead? My disgust knows no bounds….”
Another person commented, “I’m sorry, but I think this is a totally dumb***/clueless response. He needs to explain himself, unless he doesn’t care if people think he’s an idiot.”
The chaos unfolded at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., on Saturday night. The suspect exchanged gunfire with authorities, shooting a Secret Service agent who was wearing a bulletproof vest and was taken to a hospital for treatment, The New York Times reports.
The Secret Service apprehended the suspect, who was carrying knives, a shotgun, and a handgun, officials said. The suspect didn’t reach the ballroom where President Donald Trump, cabinet members, and members of the media were mingling, according to Washington police chief Jeffery W. Carroll.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said the suspect was set to be charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence and with assault of a federal officer. Pirro also said additional charges were expected when the suspect is arraigned in a federal court on Monday.
On Meet the Press on Sunday morning, acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the shooter “set out to target folks that work in the [Trump] administration, likely including the president.”
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