Business leaders, including Elon Musk and Dana White, react to the shooting at the DC press dinner
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President Donald Trump was evacuated from the White House Correspondents' Dinner after gunshots rang out. Nathan Howard/Getty Images 2026-04-26T05:05:50.748Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.
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President Donald Trump and other Secret Service protectees were safely evacuated from an annual press dinner. Business leaders, including UFC CEO Dana White, were in the room. Here's what execs are saying about the incident. AI-generated summary Summaries are generated by an AI model trained on Business Insider's articles. AI may make mistakes or provide inaccurate/incomplete information. We're unable to load that answer right now. Please try again. What security measures are in place? What impact do such events have on PR? What is the role of CEOs in crisis management? How do business leaders handle crises? How do executives respond to emergencies? Chaos broke out at Saturday night's annual White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, DC, after multiple gunshots were heard in the ballroom.President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and a host of protectees, including the vice president and multiple Cabinet members, were ushered to safety, the Secret Service said.Trump said in a press conference following the incident that a Secret Service agent was shot in his bulletproof vest.The suspect is in custody, and investigations are ongoing.Here's what people in the big leagues of business are saying about the incident. Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Bloomberg/Getty Images Musk reposted an X post from the White House, which included a statement from Trump."'In light of this evening's events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully.' - President Donald J. Trump," the tweet read.Musk became a particularly vocal Trump backer after the July 2024 assassination attempt at a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. In 2025, the two hit a relationship rough patch and traded some barbs, but they have been cordial at public events since. Dana White, UFC CEO UFC CEO Dana White at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Paul Morigi/Getty Images White was a guest at the dinner and was in the room when chaos broke out."It was fucking awesome. I literally took every minute of it in. It was a pretty crazy, unique experience," White was seen saying in a video posted on X by MMAJunkie, part of USA Today's sports desk. Mark Thompson, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide Mark Thompson, the chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery Thompson sent a memo to all CNN staffers after the incident, according to screenshots of the memo posted to X by Brian Stelter, the network's chief media analyst.Thompson highlighted the CNN team's real-time response and on-the-ground reporting as the shooting unfolded."We know this was a frightening and disruptive situation for those in the room, and for your colleagues and loved ones watching live on CNN. Moments like this can stay with you in ways that aren't necessarily immediate or obvious," Thompson wrote."Please take care of yourselves and one another," he added. Luther Lowe, head of public policy at Y Combinator Journalist Weijia Jiang and her husband, Luther Lowe, head of public policy at Y Combinator. Paul Morigi/Getty Images Lowe is married to Weijia Jiang, the CBS journalist who chairs the White House Correspondents' Association. Jiang got her share of accolades from media peers and viewers alike for her poise under pressure — she was onstage next to Trump during the shooting, and took a front-row seat in the briefing room after."So proud of @weijia. She was on the stage less than an hour ago presiding over the abrupt end of the dinner and now she's in the front row of the White House briefing room waiting to for the President to speak," Lowe wrote. Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, cofounders of Kalshi Tarek Mansour, cofounder of Kalshi. IMF The cofounders of the popular predictions market attended the event together."This was Luana and I's first White House Correspondents Dinner. The moment was scary, but the dinner until then was a great gathering of people from all sides," Mansour wrote on X."Grateful for law enforcement and that the President and everyone is safe," Mansour said, giving a shoutout to CBS's Jiang, too.Lara thanked Mansour on X for pulling her under the table to keep her safe."If your co-founder isn't protecting you in a shooting situation, find another one," she wrote. Bilal Zuberi, founder of VC firm Red Glass Ventures "Pretty scary that our most important leaders of the government were at risk today. President Trump, Vice President Pence, and House Speaker Johnson were all in that room," Zuberi wrote on X."From multiple attacks against our president to attacks against politicians around the country, to attacks on politicians and leadership around the world - these are abhorrent, and people everywhere should vehemently oppose and condemn them!" the tech investor added.