An incident took place during the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner when gunshots were heard at the event. Before this took place, the co-hosts of The View discussed the event. However, one of the co-hosts’ comments concerned a warning that proved eerie for some fans, discussing someone who would be at the center of the story
The Co-Hosts Of The View Shared That They Wouldn’t Be Attending The Event
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is an annual event hosted by the White House Correspondents’ Association, which traditionally features the president and vice president in attendance. On April 25, President Donald Trump was set to attend the event for the first time as president. He was accompanied by his wife, First Lady Melania, and Vice President JD Vance.
However, reports later came out of gunshots at the event. The gunman was later identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen. An officer had been shot but was not in critical condition.
Prior to the dinner, the co-hosts of The View made headlines after sharing that they were not going to be in attendance. Ana Navarro stated that she did not want to “normalize” Trump’s appearance at the event. Sunny Hostin also shared concern “about journalists making him appear to be normal.”
Sara Haines Joked About The Reason She Wouldn’t Be Attending, Referencing A Previous Moment On The Talk Show
At the time, however, Sara Haines joked that Trump wasn’t the reason she wanted to avoid the event. As she shared, “It isn’t Donald Trump that’s keeping me from this dinner, it’s Oz Pearlman.” This was in reference to the celebrity mentalist and magician shocking her by revealing her ATM number on the air during a November 2025 episode of The View.
Alyssa Farah Griffin added, “Thank you, okay, I stand with Sara on this,” though Haines clarified that it was “just a joke.” Griffin continued, “Is he going to shout out the nuclear codes? How can we trust this man at this dinner?” Haines replied, “I’m going to warn everyone at that dinner: Tell him nothing!” Griffin finished the joke, adding, “Don’t leave your phone near him, either!”
For many, the comments proved eerie, as Pearlman would find himself in the middle of the incident. As noted by Entertainment Weekly, Pearlman was captured performing for the Donald and Melania Trump when shots rang out at the event. He later turned to social media to talk about what it was like being in the middle of the incident.
Taking to Instagram, Pearlman shared, “Thank you all for checking on me. I am okay and thank God everyone is alright! Was in the middle of performing for the President and First Lady when I looked up to see a commotion. Thought it was a bomb about to go off or shots fired. We hit the deck fast and Secret Service acted decisively and professionally to protect us all.”
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John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.
