Featured Image Credit: C-Span
Topics: Donald Trump, Viral, US News
Kiesha Dosanjh
The White House Correspondents’ dinner was thrown into chaos over the weekend, when guests were interrupted by the sound of gunshots outside the ballroom.
President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and cabinet officials were swiftly evacuated, while other guests were seen hiding under the tables.
One guest, however, has since gone viral after he was seen remaining in his seat and continuing to eat his salad while chaos ensued around him.
Now, the man in question, creative Artists Agency agent Michael Glantz, has answered the question on everyone’s minds and explained why, and how, he remained so calm amid the chaos.
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“First of all, I have a bad back. I couldn’t get on the floor, and if I did get on the floor, they’d have to bring in people to get me off the floor,” he told the New York Times.
Glantz then revealed he simply didn’t want to get his new tux dirty. “And No. 2, I’m a hygiene freak. There was no freaking way I was getting in my new tux on the dirty Hilton floor. It was not happening,” he told the publication. Priorities!
The chaos was nothing new to the New Yorker, who said he's used to being around sirens and noise.
In fact, he stressed that he wasn’t scared, and wanted to watch what was going down. Speaking to the WHC Insider the day after the commotion, Glantz said: “I just didn’t want to miss the show!”
He’s not the only attendee to have spoken out since the commotion, however, he was definitely the calmest.
Mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was in the middle of performing a trick in front of the President and First Lady when they heard the bangs, has said he thought they were all ‘about to die’.
Trump also spoke about his feelings after the incident. Addressing members of the press, he said: “I heard a noise and thought it was a tray. I thought it was a tray going down - I’ve heard that many times - it was a pretty loud noise, and it was from pretty far away.
“It was quite far away - but it was a gun. Some people really understood that pretty quickly, others didn’t. I was watching to see what was happening, but probably should’ve gone down even faster.”
Gunman Cole Tomas Allen has now been charged with attempting to assassinate the President of the United States, using a firearm during a crime of violence, and the transportation of a firearm in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony.