Trump presses his case for White House ballroom following press dinner shooting

US President Donald Trump takes questions during a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, shortly after a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 25, 2026. Mandel Ngan | Afp | President Donald Trump on Sunday renewed his calls for construction to continue on the planned White House ballroom . Trump and members of his Cabinet were evacuated from the White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel in Washington, D.C., on Saturday night after multiple gunshots were heard by attendees . The shooter was "taken down" by U.S. Secret Service agents, Trump said after the event. "What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE," Trump wrote on Truth Social . "This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House. It cannot be built fast enough!" Trump was invited as an honoree to the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner, which is a privately held function. If a ballroom were to be constructed on the grounds of the White House, it likely would not host private events. …