Trump Mercilessly Mocks 'Little Boy' JD Vance While Recounting WHCD Shooting Horror
Donald Trump joked Secret Service agents carried JD Vance away 'like a little boy' during the shooting scare.
May 12 2026, Published 11:21 a.m. ET
Donald Trump couldn't resist poking fun at J.D. Vance while reliving last month's White House Correspondents' dinner shooting scare — cracking that Secret Service agents scooped up the vice president "like he was a little boy," RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Trump joked Vance was whisked off stage at lightning speed while he was left wondering why agents didn't rush him out quite as dramatically.
Trump Roasts Vance During Rose Garden Speech
Trump had the crowd laughing as he mocked the dramatic way JD Vance was pulled from the ballroom.
Speaking on May 11 during a Police Week event in the Rose Garden, Trump described the moments after gunfire erupted outside the Washington Hilton on April 25, per a video obtained by The New York Post.
"They had great professional people, and they came out within seconds," Trump told the crowd, praising Secret Service agents.
But the president quickly pivoted to joking about Vance's frantic removal from the ballroom.
"I saw them take J.D. by the shoulders and lift him up like he was a little boy," Trump said. "I said, 'how come they didn't lift me up so fast?'"
The crowd laughed as Trump continued: "They lifted J.D. — got ripped out of the chair. That was a view of the week, but they did the job, J.D., right? I think so."
Dramatic Video Captured Agents Pulling Vance Away
Secret Service agents surrounded Vance and quickly escorted him off stage during the panic.
Video from inside the ballroom showed just how quickly agents reacted once shots were reported outside the venue.
One Secret Service agent sprinted toward Vance, grabbed him by the shoulders, and yanked him backward out of his seat before additional agents rushed in around him.
The vice president immediately bolted off stage, surrounded by security.
Trump, meanwhile, remained seated for a few extra moments as agents converged around him before eventually helping him from his chair and escorting him away.
At one point during the evacuation, the president appeared to briefly stumble forward while exiting the stage.
Trump Denied He Fell During Evacuation
The president denied he fell while leaving the stage during the chaotic evacuation.
After clips of the chaotic moment spread online, social media users questioned whether Trump had fallen during the evacuation.
But in an interview with CBS News the following day, Trump insisted he did not fall and claimed agents had instructed him to lower himself to the ground while leaving the ballroom.
"I was walking out...about halfway there, they said 'please go down to the floor,'" Trump explained.
He also suggested the delay in evacuating him was partly because he wanted to keep watching what was unfolding.
"I wanted to see what was happening... I probably made them act a little more slowly," Trump detailed.
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Suspect Now Faces Sweeping Federal Charges
Prosecutors accused suspect Cole Allen of attempting to assassinate the president in a newly expanded federal indictment.
The incident has taken an even more serious turn as the alleged gunman, identified as Cole Tomas Allen, now faces a widened federal case connected to the shocking assassination plot.
According to newly filed court documents obtained by Radar, a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., returned a four-count indictment accusing Allen of attempted assassination of the president, assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon, transporting firearms across state lines to commit a felony, and using and discharging a firearm during a violent crime.
Federal prosecutors alleged Allen "did knowingly attempt to kill the President of the United States."
