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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Suspected Gunman Charged With Attempted Assassination Of Trump; White House Blames DEMS For Inciting Political Violence; WH: Trump "Believes That The Protocols Worked" For Security; Oz Pearlman Was On Stage During The WHCD Shooting; First Lady Slams Jimmy Kimmel For "Hateful And Violent Rhetoric"; Trump Calls On ABC To Fire Jimmy Kimmel After He Joked Melania Was "Expectant Widow" Two Days Before Shooting; White House Blames Democrats Inciting Political Violence; King Charles Begins High-Stakes Diplomatic Visit To U.S.; Suspect Charged With Attempting To Assassinate Trump. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired April 27, 2026 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Disney CEO, Josh D'Amaro, he just took over for longtime CEO, Bob Iger six weeks ago. And remember, Iger had to oversee the entire fiasco over Kimmel the last time around with Trump. Brian Stelter is reporting that Kimmel is set to tape his show at 9:00 P.M. Eastern tonight, and we'll see if he responds to all of this.
And in the meantime, thanks so much to all of you for being with us. We'll see you back here tomorrow. AC360 with Anderson begins right now.
[20:00:32]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Good evening, breaking news tonight in the investigation of the alleged attacker of the White House Correspondents' Dinner, now charged with attempted assassination of the President.
According to authorities and as this video indicates, the suspect ran for the magnetometer carrying a 12-gauge shotgun. A Secret Service officer was shot in the chest, but survived according to authorities because of his ballistic vest.
The same agent drew his weapon, fired multiple shots at the suspect. The alleged attacker fell but was not hit by gunfire, was then arrested. We now know his name is Cole Tomas Allen, and authorities say he was also armed with a 38-caliber pistol and multiple knives, according to what law enforcement are calling a manifesto that Allen released minutes before the attack and other evidence collected since Saturday night. Authorities say he was intent on killing Trump administration officials, including the President.
Now, I want to play you the moment as President Trump is on the dais with the First Lady when it appears you can hear gunshots and panic begins to spread throughout the crowd.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MOMENT AS PRESIDENT TRUMP IS ON THE DAIS WITH THE FIRST LADY WHEN IT APPEARS YOU CAN HEAR GUNSHOTS AND PANIC BEGINS TO SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE CROWD.)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Seconds later, Vice President Vance was taken off stage by his Secret Service detail, and then the President was hustled off by his Secret Service. I just want to play a different, closer angle of that.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
COOPER: President Trump said in a "60 Minutes" interview that he asked his detail to wait to make sure the sound was an actual threat before moving him to safety. Also, on stage and then on the stage floor with the President was performer, Oz Pearlman, who we will be speaking with, we'll talk to a little bit later in the show.
The alleged would-be assassin had his first appearance in court today and faced three charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TODD BLANCHE, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: The first count is attempted assassination of the President of the United States. This count is punishable by up to life in prison. The second count is interstate transportation of a firearm to commit a felony. This is punishable by up to ten years in prison. And the third count is discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, which is punishable by a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of ten years, a maximum of life, and the ten years is consecutive to any other sentence imposed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: The Acting Attorney General also said that law enforcement did not fail, and while the alleged gunman was stopped, one staircase away from the banquet. Serious questions are being asked tonight about how he could get by that security, how he could get so close, and the wisdom of gathering the President and the Vice President, the Speaker of the House and so many cabinet level officials in the same location, and the fact the event was not given the highest security designation of a National Special Security Event.
And to be clear, this White House Correspondents' Dinner has not been given that designation in the past, which is typically reserved for events like The State of The Union.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who was also on that dais, was pressed about any security failures.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The President has said he believes that the protocols worked. Again, you had a perpetrator who tried to breach the security perimeter that was set up by Secret Service, and he was running as fast as he could and was immediately neutralized moments later.
So, Secret Service did their jobs well. They communicated with one another to remove the President and the Vice-President to safety as quickly as they could, and obviously to neutralize the shooter as well and thank God they did, because if that man was allowed into that ballroom, it would have been a much different scene.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Leavitt added that the White House continues to ask tough questions about the safety of the President, who now has endured a third assassination attempt in what White House Chief-of-Staff Susie Wiles would be convening a meeting with the Secret Service, the Department of Homeland Security and White House officials this week to review security moving forward.
Now, in addition, Leavitt had some pointed words for the Presidents critics, who she blames for motivating Saturday's attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEAVITT: This political violence stems from a systemic demonization of him and his supporters by commentators, yes, by elected members of the Democratic Party and even some in the media. This hateful and constant and violent rhetoric directed at President Trump, day after day after day, for 11 years, has helped to legitimize this violence and bring us to this dark moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:05:08]
COOPER: The President, should be noted, has not shied away from violent rhetoric in the past or the demonization of those he perceives as enemies. He's even, on occasion celebrated or mocked the deaths of some perceived political enemies.
In the next hour, we'll get into Presidential security, the criminal case against the alleged would-be assassin, and the political firestorm over laying blame for his motivation, including new calls by the first lady and the President to fire Jimmy Kimmel over these remarks, which he made last Thursday before the dinner and attempted assassination.
Kimmel was pretending to be the master of ceremonies of the dinner, since no comedian was going to do it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": And of course, our First Lady, Melania is here. Look, so beautiful, Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, Kimmel is expected to respond to the calls for his firing in his recorded show this evening. He's going to be taping that shortly. We'll bring you any new remarks he made that may become known in this next hour. First, here's Brian Todd with how this attack all unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over) : By 8:00 P.M. on Saturday, the ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel was full of guests awaiting the nights' festivities, 16 minutes later, President Trump and the First Lady take to the stage. At 8:34 P.M., Trump is seen conversing with American mentalist, Oz Pearlman, who appears to be showing him a trick.
At roughly the same time outside the ballroom and one floor up at the security perimeter, a man is caught on video charging through a secret service checkpoint, charging documents now say he was carrying a long gun and a pistol.
In the footage, which was later posted to the President's Truth Social account, Secret Service officers can be seen drawing their weapons and pointing them off screen in the direction of the assailant. Charging documents also say a Secret Service officer was shot once in the chest. He was wearing a ballistic vest and survived. Attorney General Todd Blanche says the Secret Service officer who was hit fired five times at the suspect but didn't hit him.
Video captures what was happening downstairs at the same time in the ballroom, a loud noise is heard in the background, followed by what sounds like several gunshots. A look of shock clearly passes over First Lady Melania Trump's face. Eleven seconds after the first noise was heard, security personnel surround the President. Guests start to crouch down under their tables.
On the other side of the stage, security agents reach Vice President J.D. Vance and immediately rush him away. Seconds later, Secret Service agents rushed the President offstage.
In the moments that follow, members of Trump's Cabinet, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, as well as House Speaker Mike Johnson, are seen being escorted through the hotel to safety while shocked guests shelter at their tables and start filing reports.
SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There was a loud noise. There was a very loud bang. We're not sure what it is.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's unmistakable, it sounded like gunshots that we heard.
TODD (voice over): The shooter was stopped on the floor above the ballroom near that secret service checkpoint that he ran past. At 8:52 P.M., eyewitness, Bill Frischling shot this video of the suspect lying face down on the ground, shirtless and in handcuffs. CNN's Wolf Blitzer was just steps away from it all and began filing live reports from the scene.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN'S LEAD POLITICAL ANCHOR AND ANCHOR OF "THE SITUATION ROOM WITH WOLF BLITZER": Just maybe three, four, or five feet away from me. There's a gunshot, a whole bunch of gunshots, and someone firing.
TODD (voice over): By 9:48 P.M., a motorcade believed to be carrying President Trump departed the Washington Hilton.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Joining me now is CNN chief White House Correspondent and anchor of "The Source" Kaitlan Collins. She was at Saturday night's dinner when shots rang out.
So, Kaitlan, at this point, how much of the White House the Justice Department pieced together about what happened and what questions remain and outstanding?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN'S CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT AND THE ANCHOR OF "THE SOURCE": I mean, pretty quickly after the next morning, at least, Anderson, I've been speaking with senior officials about this investigation. They knew about the writings that had been discovered, the e-mail that the shooter had sent had been scheduled to send, according to the charging documents that we saw today to his family and friends, explaining what he was doing and who exactly it was that he was targeting.
They had already read through that at that point, so they knew what was expected to come out today in these charging documents. And obviously, are letting this investigation play out in the courts with the Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche, is what he said today and the D.C. U.S. Attorney, Jeanine Pirro.
The other thing that the White House has been focused on, Anderson, is just the fact that this chaotic scene that played out in the ballroom created such a security issue, given the President, the Vice President, were on stage. Cabinet officials were interspersed throughout the room at random tables. Theres not a ton of room inside there -- inside that room, you can barely scoot your chair back to get up from the table because it's so packed with guests who are in there.
And so, they are looking at that now and we know that the Chief-of- Staff Susie Wiles today at The White House convened top officials and top-secret service officials to talk about what protocols they could change or need to review going forward, given the obvious situation and concerns that you can see that it created.
I mean, Karoline Leavitt held a briefing today. She's supposed to be on maternity leave. She actually was not expected to be back at The White House, but she came out to talk about this and at one point did acknowledge that is something they'll look at, the fact that the Vice President and the President were both on stage, something that obviously raises security concerns given, of course, what we saw play out there.
[20:10:25]
COOPER: As we mentioned, you were there at the correspondents' dinner. I was not there. I never go to this except for once, like 20 years ago. But let me ask you, it's interesting because when you see that shot on the dais of the President an Oz Pearlman, it takes -- you hear shots off the, you know, I guess outside the room, it takes a while before kind of understanding what's happening, obviously, to reach the stage. I'm not sure where you were in the room, but did you, how quickly did you realize what was going on?
COLLINS: So, we were seated when you looked at the dais. We were seated off to the right because CNN was actually getting an award at the end of the dinner. And so, they had seated us there so we could easily get to the stage at the end of the program. Wolf Blitzer was expected to be on stage presenting those when he had stepped out, obviously, to go to the restroom and witnessed the shooting himself. And so, we were sitting there. Maybe it had been about ten minutes, they had sang the National Anthem. The Color Guard had come in, and then they had just exited the room.
And, it's often really loud in this room because there's not a ton of room for the staff to go around and serve people. I mean, last year I remember an entire tray of plates fell on the ground and was very loud. So, I think for a moment, those of us who were seated closer to the stage, and that's why you don't really see the President react there, did not hear the shots. It was people who were closer back by the doors that did hear them.
And so, in that moment, I was sitting there and you look to your left and the CAT team came in, which is the Secret Service members who were wearing helmets. They had the major guns that their weapons they are carrying with them.
Typically, I see them at the White House, Anderson, going up to the roof of the White House. They check for snipers or looking around. I mean, these are the people who are walking around, but you don't often see them. They're not like the normal Secret Service that's around the President.
And so, in that moment, I mean, I've never I've never seen them be deployed in a situation before. And I've covered the President for ten years now.
And so, watching them come in and go down the aisle, and then I look to my right, the President was still on stage. And obviously, you can now see in the video the Vice President has pulled off stage long before the President is. But the Secret Service kind of covers him and stands around him, similar to how they did in Butler, where they surrounded him while he was on that stage, not knowing where the threat is coming from. And so, obviously, it was a chaotic scene that just played out there.
COOPER: Yes, well, we're glad everybody is okay. Kaitlin, thank you. We'll see you at the top of the hour for "The Source" you're going to speak with Senator Bernie Sanders.
Joining me now is former Secret Service Agent and CNN law enforcement analyst Jonathan Wackrow. Also, former secret service supervisory agent and former DHS advisor Charles Marino. Jonathan, ultimately, how do you think the Secret Service did what stands out to you about this?
JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, there's two takeaways here, and two things are correct at the same time. One, the Secret Service, the security plan that they put together, which is a threat-based methodology for this event worked. You know, they were able to successfully stop a threat that was coming inbound. That threat did not get down to the terrain level that the President was on, did not get into the ballroom and did not reach its ultimate goal, which was, you know, to get to the President. So, that was a win for the Secret Service.
But at the same time, there's always room for improvement. And I think that should be the discussion now as to, you know, these are very complex events to coordinate. And then when you add to that complexity, when you have all of these elected officials, multiple members of the line of succession that are there, all of which was planned in a very short amount of time, typically a National Special Security Event or an NSSE, which is a very highly designated security event, takes months, if not years to plan for something like that.
They didn't have that. The President, I think, only said that he was going just a few weeks ago. So, putting together a very comprehensive plan for the attendees that are there, plus the 2,400 attendees that --
COOPER: Wouldn't there have been a plan, I mean, this happens every year. Presidents usually go to it in prior administrations often go to it in prior --
WACKROW: But this isn't a day, you know, a repeat cycle, right? You have to develop your security plan based upon the threat environment that you're facing right now. If you were just to take the plan out from last week, last year, that's being complacent. Complacency kills.
COOPER: Charles, do you think there were lapses in security for this event, given the suspect was able to get as far as he did before being apprehended?
CHARLES MARINO, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT ADVISER: Well, I think to pick up on Jonathan's point, the question is, are the protocols of the Secret Service evolving to address the myriad of threats that we're facing currently, both against the United States, as well as specifically against the President and other elected leaders, that's really going to have to be the topic of the conversation.
Because, yes, while the system worked and the threat was ultimately stopped, it was too close for comfort. It made its way too far into that secure area. And so, the Secret Service certainly has the statutory authority to be as aggressive as they need in establishing that outer perimeter.
And this is where we've heard the greatest amount of critique coming from attendees saying that they thought the first time they encountered any type of screening was too far in, too deep just outside of that ballroom. So, there's forcing mechanisms like designating this event as a National Special Security Event, because this wasn't just a potential attack against the elected leaders. It also tested the continuity of government based on the attendees that were in the ballroom that night.
[20:15:53]
And that's why events like The State of the Union, the Inauguration, have a designated survivor, have the designation as a National Special Security Event and that designation lies with the Secretary of Homeland Security. So, I think The White House, DHS, they're going to look for the Secret Service to put forward some recommendations, because this after-action report is not going to be that pretty.
COOPER: And Jonathan, I mean, this person, I guess, checked into the hotel, the person came by train, which I guess is a mode of travel that has not as much scrutiny. But the fact that they had checked into the hotel is that something that the Secret Service would not have anticipated?
WACKROW: Well, listen, it speaks to the vulnerability. And I think that what Chuck was just saying is, is absolutely correct. The after- action report is going to look at that.
Obviously, there was a lot of preplanning that went into place, you know, by this attacker understanding that they could get into the hotel, be inside, the soft perimeter to then be able to launch that attack. So, these are things that the Secret Service has to look at.
Listen, the reality is the threat environment has absolutely changed. And the Secret Service needs to make sure that the protocols are changing with this threat environment.
COOPER: I mean, if there had been multiple attackers with, you know, more weapons checked into this hotel that I mean, that could have been devastating.
WACKROW: Absolutely. But the Secret Service needs to, you know, be thinking about how these threats are all asymmetric right now. And they have to, you know, be able to respond to that, change those protocols. Really what it's like is when we're taking this event that we've been there time and time again, the complexity of everything that was going on, the security plan is like trying to put the, you know, the square peg in a round hole, right?
We're trying to make it work because we have to make it work. Remember, risk is not going to be zero ever in protection. It's risk management. But we can do better to look at the protocols and really see where we can adjust because this event is going to happen. Other Presidential events are going to happen large scale. We have to get better.
COOPER: Jonathan Wackrow, thank you, Charles Merino as well. Appreciate it. Up next, new details on the alleged gunman seen as investigative team has taken a deep dive into his social media accounts that show a turn from video gaming to political anger, and later, the moment mentalist Oz Pearlman found himself face to face with the President. He says on the ground, on the floor of the stage, after the gunshots rang out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:22:28]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLANCHE: What is clear from the complaint and from what we have so far is he was targeting President Trump; he described that in his Manifesto. He was targeting administration officials, he described that. But as far as us understanding additional motivation, that's for the FBI and law enforcement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: More from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche at his press conference this afternoon on the suspected gunman at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and now he is facing three charges tonight, the suspect is including trying to assassinate the President.
FBI agents are busy going door to door in Torrance, California, where the alleged gunman lives. And that's where CNN's Kyung Lah is tonight. She joins us now. So, what more have you learned about this person?
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is where he grew up, Anderson. This house behind me. His parents live here. He lived here with his parents. And this is really a small bedroom community of Los Angeles, very quiet, very middle class. This is where he called home. He was raised by those parents, a father, a deacon at a local nearby church. He's also a high school teacher by no indication of any of the people we spoke with here were there any issues inside the home.
He went to Caltech, a school that is very difficult to get into, and got his degree in engineering, went on to get his masters. While he was at Caltech he belonged to a Christian fellowship group. He helped create a prototype for a wheelchair brake. There weren't really any signs of anything wrong except a high achieving kid who was aiming higher.
His employment, Anderson, we do understand, was at a tutoring facility, a place where you tutor somebody who might want to get high marks on an SAT, and he was also developing a video game. So, no real red flags in his upbringing.
COOPER: What about his social media?
LAH: That's really where we start to see a bit of a turn. And you can almost see and track that turn. Some social media accounts that we can trace back to someone we believe is him, is in 2022. It really did. I mentioned the video games; he was very into video games. It does appear he was retweeting and talking about video games on social media. Theres even a video of him floating around where he's playing "Smash Bros." That's a game for ten-year-olds. So, completely innocent. But right around 2024, that's when you see a very distinct turn. He started talking much more about politics, specifically about the Trump administration.
He retweeted on his X account that Trump was like Hitler, a post that compared Trump to Hitler. And just a month ago, writing on that same account that Trump was a traitor to the United States.
Now, the sister we hear from authorities telling authorities, telling CNN that he had become more politically active here in Los Angeles. He had joined a leftist political nonviolent group and had marched in the "No Kings" parade. And the guns that we've been talking about here, Anderson, those guns, they were stored in this home but the parents were not aware that they had been inside this house -- Anderson.
[20:25:44]
COOPER: All right. Kyung Lah, appreciate it.
Up next, the moment the shots were fired, my next guest was on the dais with the President and the First Lady. I'm going to speak with mentalist, Oz Pearlman about being face to face with the President before he was rushed off stage.
And later the assassination attempt leading the President to call for ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel after a joke he made last week before the White House Correspondents' Dinner two days before. We're moments away from Kimmel taping his show, where he's expected to respond to the President. More on that coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:30:22]
COOPER: Welcome back, Oz Pearlman, also known as Oz the Mentalist, was on stage Saturday night about to reveal a trick to the President and First Lady and Karoline Leavitt when shots were fired outside the ballroom. That's them reacting. He ended up ducking under the dais and says he found himself briefly face-to-face with the President, who was pushed onto the stage floor by the Secret Service before being rushed off.
Oz joins me tonight. Oz, I'm sorry we're talking under these circumstances. The video, I mean, is extraordinary to see. You're there talking with the President, with the First Lady, with Karoline Leavitt. You're -- I know you're doing a trick with Karoline Leavitt, guess -- figuring out the name of her -- of the child that she's pregnant with. At the moment, the chaos begins to unfold, can you just walk us through what that moment was like?
OZ PEARLMAN, MENTALIST: Yes, so the moment is very unusual because it was exactly that. I was meeting the President, I was meeting the First Lady and kind of warming them up because I was going to be performing a show later for everyone. So right at the kind of pivotal moment of me performing, I'm turning around to note that Karoline is kind of, you see her and Weijia and the First Lady all, you know, the normal wow, the gasp.
And that gasp quickly turns in the same moment to, you can see, sheer panic as we all look out on the floor. I didn't see the whole crowd because I was really focused on the people with guns, but that people are getting down. And in my mind, I don't know why this is where my mind went.
I didn't really see this as somebody potentially shooting. I thought there might be a bomb in the room. And I kind of dropped down on all fours as low as I can and was bracing and looking kind of up because I'm under the table and to the side.
And again, I can't tell you how much time it felt relatively quickly before I see the President turned around, coming in the direction of me, starting to get down. And then two Secret Service people behind him, getting on top of it and bringing him down very forcefully and very quickly.
Honestly, one of the surreal, most surreal moments of my life. The President is very close to me and he's down and the two are on top of him and I turn and we both look at each other. I've since seen it on video to understand how long that time was.
I believe it was about two seconds. It felt much longer in the moment. We did not communicate. There was no speaking. I never really looked at the Secret Service agents. I just couldn't --
COOPER: But it's a unique vantage point on the President of the United States. I mean, nobody has probably ever seen --
PEARLMAN: It's --
COOPER: -- a President in that scenario that closely. What was his face like?
PEARLMAN: So I can't judge it. I don't want to give any false ideas of what occurred --
COOPER: Sure.
PEARLMAN: -- because I was so panicked that I -- we didn't communicate. What I saw was the sheer speed of the Secret Service. So if you watch it -- and I'm seeing it on the video -- was people had told me he had tripped. It did not look like that to me.
COOPER: You said it was about two seconds of you face to face. Then was he picked up? Did he stand up? What -- because he was quickly ushered out.
PEARLMAN: So it looked to me like he was -- he lifted because we stayed down. So it was very distinct that he did not stay down and Army crawl out the way we did. I was very scared. I'm like, I'm not standing up. I don't know if there's anybody shooting. I saw armed people, but they were not like, they weren't taking me anywhere. So there was no go this way. I just was like, I got to get out of here.
COOPER: So given the amount of time that's passed, do you see something different?
PEARLMAN: So I think your memory and I know it is because your memory is very malleable in these situations where watching the videos afterwards and trying to cross reference them with what I remember. For example, I could not see the other side where I've seen the videos where the Vice President is pulled out very quickly.
COOPER: Right.
PEARLMAN: I didn't see that at all. So I had no vision of that. I went down and my vision is really just directly in front of me and to the left. And I didn't even see the President actually out of his chair. He was already up and in front of me. And I was looking.
And again, it was just so surreal. And almost the next day, I had these moments of did this really happen? Like if I had woken up and said, was this all a dream? I would have believed that more than what actually happened.
COOPER: Oz, the President said he wants the dinner to be rescheduled sometime within the next month. Would you return to do your performance?
PEARLMAN: I would absolutely love to. Honestly, I felt very honored to be a part of this event. It has a story history, I believe greatly in the First Amendment, the freedom of the press. And to be out there with all the journalists, I honest -- I thought it was incredible honor and I would definitely come back.
COOPER: Oz Pearlman, thank you very much. I'm glad you and everybody else there is OK. Thank you.
PEARLMAN: Thank you, Anderson.
[20:35:03]
COOPER: Up next, more on the White House blaming Democrats and the rhetoric for the shooting and how a top Democrat on Capitol Hill pushed back against that claim.
First, any moment now, we are expecting Jimmy Kimmel to respond when he tapes this late show for tonight after the President and First Lady both called on ABC to fire him for this joke that he made days before Saturday's shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": And of course, our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at -- so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow. (END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Just two days prior to the shooting, ABC's late night host Jimmy Kimmel disgustingly called First Lady Melania Trump an expectant widow. Who in their right minds says a wife would be glowing over the potential murder of her beloved husband? And having experienced what I did with the First Lady on Saturday night, I can tell you that she was anything but that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:40:02]
COOPER: That was White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt this afternoon, hours after the First Lady called for Jimmy Kimmel to be fired. They were expressing outrage over a sketch the ABC late night talk show host did last Thursday, two days before the White House Correspondent Dinner and the attack on Saturday night.
In Kimmel's monologue, he pretends to be the master of ceremonies for the dinner, delivering jokes. Here's the one the White House is calling out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIMMEL: And of course, our First Lady Melania is here. Look at -- so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: This morning, First Lady Melania Trump took to X, writing in part, "Kimmel's hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country. His monologue about my family isn't comedy. His words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America." She added, "Enough is enough. It's time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC's leadership enable Kimmel's atrocious behavior at the expense of our community."
Minutes after Karoline Leavitt spoke, the President made a post describing Kimmel's joke as, quote, "despicable call to violence" and went on to say, "Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC." So far, there's been no response from Kimmel or ABC. He is shortly going to be recording his show for tonight and will likely address the controversy.
Of course, this is not the first time he's faced calls to resign or be fired from the Trump administration. Last summer, he mocked the President for talking about the White House East Wing renovation when a reporter asked him about Charlie Kirk's assassination. Kimmel said on his show at the time that, quote, "Many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk." That led to Kimmel being suspended for nearly a week before being put back on air. Joining me now, CNN Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter and Bill Carter, editor-at-large of TheLateNighter.com. Bill, how problematic a situation do you think this is for Kimmel, and with the President, the First Lady calling for him to be taken off the air?
BILL CARTER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, THE LATE NIGHTER: Well, it's an interesting question because, I mean, it's kind of deja vu. We've seen him attacked by them before and ABC wound up standing by him because of the First Amendment. This is sort of in the same category. Obviously, this is not a guy who encouraged violence by making that joke.
I think he was making that joke in the context of, you know, she'd be a widow if he died before her because he's older than her. He's never encouraged anyone that I've ever heard to do any kind of harm to the President. But he's an enemy of the President in the President's mind because he makes jokes about him.
He's a vocal critic. And they don't like that in the White House. They don't -- President Trump is not a guy who enjoys having, you know, someone make fun of him.
COOPER: Brian, what do you -- are you hearing anything from Disney? Any sources there or anything about what may happen?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: My sense is that Disney has no intention of breaking up with Jimmy Kimmel. Last time, this did not go well for Disney at first, right? Bill was just making reference to that.
When Brendan Carr threatened those ABC stations, some of them pulled the plug. Then ABC pulled the plug. It was a national scandal. It was embarrassing for ABC. Disney had to backtrack. And basically, Disney pissed off both sides back then.
You know, they made everybody unhappy. So this time around, they're not going to do that. They're going to make one decision and they're going to stick by it. Right now, it's pretty clear. The decision is, put the show on. Let the show go on. Hear what Kimmel has to say.
After all, we're talking about a President with a relatively low approval rating. Disney is a company thinking about its theme parks and its cruise ships and all the rest. So Disney trying to navigate this very carefully. But Anderson, the new CEO of Disney, just took over six weeks ago. Bob Iger stepped down.
Josh D'Amaro is the new CEO. This is his first big Trump test, his first big First Amendment test. And so the pressure is on Disney right now. And my sense, my sign so far, and maybe Bill's heard something else, my sense is that everybody there is sticking with Kimmel.
COOPER: Well, Bill, how much power did the, you know, the affiliates were kind of -- seemed like were really driving this the last time around. I'm not sure if that was a sign that they don't have as much power as maybe they thought they did. What happened the last time? CARTER: Well, it did work out that way because I think the affiliates made that move thinking that Disney might go along with it. But Disney has, you know, so much importance over them. They put on their sports. They put on all their other -- their news. They can't exist without a network now.
A station group is nothing without a network now. So they do have that. And I think it's up to Kimmel now, I think, to give -- and Disney's safe harbor in this. He has to say something tonight, I think, that is conciliatory in a way, but addresses this as kind of, you know, the same kind of issue.
It's a First Amendment issue. It's being demagogued as something else. And I think he's going to stick by his guns because it, first of all, that's who he is. He's a stiff back comic. He's not going to give in. But I think he believes what he's talking about.
I do think he'll address it. And I think he'll do it in a way that makes sense for Disney or that Disney will be able to go on. As Brian said, Disney's not showing any sign of wavering right now.
COOPER: Brian, what do you think?
STELTER: I think the bottom line is that whether the joke was tasteless or whether they think the joke was brilliant, it doesn't really matter.
[20:45:04]
Once the President of the United States tries to use all of his pressure and his public platform to bully a comedian, and more importantly, to bully a giant company into doing something, then it becomes an entirely different debate. So we're having a discussion, I think, personally, not about the joke anymore, but about whether the President should use the bully pulpit to try to control media coverage and content.
And look, the last 48 hours, we can see the playbook. It's being played again. The Trump White House is trying to silence critics using what happened in the ballroom or outside the ballroom on Saturday. Most Americans don't want to see that happen.
And Anderson, in the last 15 months of Trump 2.0, most of these free speech tests, America's been passing the tests. You know, these companies sometimes waver. It gets complicated. There are controversies. But for the most part, we're actually holding up pretty well. And the courts have also been defending the First Amendment rights of these companies and these individuals, despite all of Trump's pressure.
COOPER: Brian Stelter, Bill Carter, thanks very much.
As we touched on earlier, following Saturday's shooting, the White House is blaming Democrats and others. Here again is the White House Press Secretary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEAVITT: This political violence stems from a systemic demonization of him and his supporters by commentators, yes, by elected members of the Democrat Party, and even some in the media. This hateful and constant and violent rhetoric directed at President Trump day after day after day for 11 years has helped to legitimize this violence and bring us to this dark moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, this afternoon, the top Democrat in the House, the minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, pushed back on that accusation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D), MINORITY LEADER: The so-called White House Press Secretary, who's a disgrace, she's a stone-cold liar, had the nerve to stand up there and read talking points, being critical of statements all taken out of context that Democrats have made and didn't have a word to say about anything that MAGA extremists have said or done, including providing aid and comfort to violent insurrectionists here at this Capitol on January 6th who brutally beat police officers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Joining me now, two of our political commentators, Van Jones, who was an adviser at the Obama White House, and Alyssa Farah Griffin, who served as White House Communications Director during President Trump's first term. Van, I mean, we've heard this debate before. It's taking a similar shape now that we have seen in the past. Do you think the political speech is at the root of political violence?
VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I think it's pretty hot out there. And there's a lot on both sides of just, you know, pretty extreme rhetoric. But I don't think that the Trump White House is going to get a great hearing from Democrats because he's been -- he himself has been so inflammatory, so incendiary.
I think once he decided to let the January 6th insurrectionists off the hook, Democrats just, I think, walk away from the conversation because that's actual violence. You can't be -- you can't have more political violence than attacking a joint session of Congress during the transfer of power.
And, you know, he not only was a cheerleader for it, he literally signed off on it and let all those people go. So I think that that violence is a part of this conversation, too. I wish everybody would tone it down. I try to tone it down.
Now I'm going to say some dumb things I regret. But in general, I think everybody could tone it down. But I don't it's -- I don't think one side can point to the other at this point.
COOPER: Yes, I mean -- ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Van hits on something
really important here. So when I talk to my friends on the right, they always -- they point to the fact that they have now tried to shoot the President three times. We have now had three assassination attempts on President Trump.
They point to Charlie Kirk. There is this feeling on the right of, we have been targeted at a higher clip than Democrats have. But Democrats, when you talk to them, they go back to January 6th, such a stark example of an attack on a joint session of Congress.
Until that divide can be bridged and there can be a serious conversation that both of those, all of those things are wrong by elected leaders, I don't know how we get past this --
COOPER: Right. But it's, you know, for the Press Secretary, I mean, the President went after, you know, made fun of Paul Pelosi --
JONES: Yes.
COOPER: -- who was almost killed in his home.
JONES: That's -- I was just about shocked about that. You know, for us, you know, there's no more beloved person in our party than Nancy Pelosi. She could have been murdered. Her husband was almost murdered and the President made jokes about it.
And so this -- that's why it doesn't land. That's why I don't think people take it seriously. When he says, you know, knock it off. Now, I -- again, I do think it matters. I do think that tone matters. I do think that our words matter. And I think we have to take them very seriously.
But, you know, we've had political violence. Also, you know, we had, you know, two of our state legislators killed very recently. Democratic state legislators killed, I think, in Minnesota.
COOPER: Yes.
JONES: You know, so we're take -- there's a body count on both sides.
COOPER: Yes, I mean, the argument seems to be, you know, certainly from the White House and that it's Democrats and it's -- and there's only violence against Republicans. Obviously --
FARAH GRIFFIN: Not actually (ph).
COOPER: -- perfectly there is violence --
JONES: Unfortunately --
COOPER: -- all over there.
[20:50:10]
JONES: And, you know, what happened, I thought, at the White House, of course, minus dinner. I mean, you had Erica Kirk there. You know, she's suffered violence. You also had Bobby Kennedy there. His father was murdered politically, who's a Democrat.
So we have political violence in this country. If the President wants to lead a discussion about lowering the tone, he could do that.
COOPER: Right, I mean, he attacked Norah O'Donnell --
JONES: Yes.
COOPER: -- after this in a 60 Minutes interview where she was simply asking him basic questions.
JONES: Yes.
FARAH GRIFFIN: Right. And I think this language that you're hearing from some on the right, of the left took aim at the President, saying the collective left. That is so --
JONES: That's dangerous.
FARAH GRIFFIN: -- dangerous. This is one individual we're learning more about his motives. They were clearly political in nature, but as an individual with agency. I remember when conservatives believed that individuals made choices, not a collective political movement. Hearing that from respected senators and lawmakers on the right is incredibly disappointing in this moment because the temperature has to be brought down.
JONES: I do understand the fear that the President's family must have. It is not a good thing. We should be able to have a dinner without, you know, having the President, you know, pushed to the ground and rushed out.
COOPER: I mean, it's horrific. There have been three attempts on him.
JONES: Yes, exactly. So I understand the -- so whatever the First Lady is saying, she's feeling that she gets a pass. She can say whatever she wants. She can feel whatever she wants to. The family, I think, can have whatever feelings they want to.
But as a body politic, if we're going to have the discussion, it can't be a one-sided accusation. If we -- I'd be happy to come to the table with anybody to calm it down. But the President has to show leadership through example, I think, to have the credibility to do it.
COOPER: Van, what do you think about Jimmy Kimmel? What do you think Jimmy Kimmel will say tonight about this -- that argument?
JONES: Yes, Jimmy Kimmel is in a tough spot because obviously he's not going to back down. And I think Disney will stand with him. And, by the way, the reason Disney stood with him last time was because people started, you know, canceling their subscriptions. I mean, Disney Plus was about to go down.
So I don't think they're going to back away. But I think Jimmy Kimmel has to look in the mirror and say, is there something I can do tonight that can bring some calm to this? I think it's no loss of face on his part if he shows some empathy and some sympathy for this President and his family that are under threat. And you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.
So if I'm Jimmy Kimmel, I would go above and beyond the call of duty, not to curry favor with the White House, but just to see if I could use my platform to calm things down, as he did the last time.
COOPER: Yes. Van Jones, thanks so much. Alyssa Farah Griffin, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
Day one -- coming up, day one of King Charles' and Queen Camilla's visit to Washington. This comes after the President has been highly critical of U.K. leadership over their refusal to assist in the war with Iran. What both sides hope to accomplish in the next days ahead. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:57:00]
COOPER: King Charles and Queen Camilla have arrived for a four-day visit aimed at marking the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence from British rule. The King and Queen were greeted by the President, the First Lady of the White House today and then attended a garden party at the British Embassy in Washington. This visit comes eight weeks into President Trump's war with Iran, a war the British prime minister has refused to support, infuriating President Trump and straining relations between the two nations.
Joining me now is CNN Royal Correspondent Max Foster. How's the visit going so far?
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's been going pretty smoothly considering that the relationship between the U.K. and the U.S. governments couldn't be any worse than it is right now. But we know that the President is very fond of the King and the King has a very good relationship with the President. So they -- after they headed into the country, headed over to the White House and met the President and the First Lady.
The big ceremonial welcome will actually be on Tuesday. So we'll see that again with full military honors. And then they came here to the U.K. embassy for a typically British moment, really. There was a tea party in the back lawn. There was lots of bunting out and they went to meet a cross section of society, really.
And they started off speaking to a cross group of politicians. He had the Mike, the Speaker -- the House Speaker Mike Johnson, Nancy Pelosi, you had Scott Bessent from the Cabinet. And they all spoke very highly of their moment, actually, with the King and Queen.
And then they moved on and met other representatives of showbiz and sport and indeed commerce. And the Queen went out of her way to meet a group of -- that represents survivors of domestic violence. And she spent a bit of time with them. And we actually asked one of those representatives what they thought about the fact that the King isn't addressing the Epstein crisis in any way, because he says he don't know -- doesn't want to interfere with a live investigation involving his brother. And they actually said they respected that.
But that was a bit of a moment, a big talking point, something that King says he can't address. But I think the big day will be Tuesday.
COOPER: Well, King Charles is scheduled to meet one-on-one with President Trump, which what you're referencing tomorrow in the Oval Office. Those meetings can often go off script. Are British officials concerned about it?
FOSTER: Well, it's interesting. It's so carefully managed. And of course, if there's an Oval Office moment, there would always be a report or a camera in the room for a head of state. We can't think of a time when that hasn't happened. I think it's -- the palace wants to protect the King from any embarrassing moments relating to the prime minister and the President's relationship with the prime minister.
This is about head of state to head of state. I have been speaking to someone very close to the King. I think there are multiple occasions where they will be speaking one on one. And the King would be expected to talk about those issues. They just don't want a camera in the room because that might affect his constitutional position.
The big speech in front of the joint chambers of Congress, I'm told, will start with showing solidarity with the U.K. after what happened on Saturday night. It'll also lean in very heavily to what the two countries have achieved over many decades, centuries of a relationship.
Talking about World War II, how they worked together there, but also very strong on the -- what the King sees as one of the great -- the post-World War order, if you like. So institutions like the U.N. and NATO are things --
COOPER: Yes.
FOSTER: -- he's going to talk about very highly.
COOPER: Yes. Max Foster, always good to talk to you. We'll continue to do it tomorrow night. Thanks very much.
The news continues. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now. See you tomorrow.
