You're a disgrace: Trump berates journalist for quoting gala dinner shooter's note

United States President Donald Trump sharply rebuked a journalist during a TV interview, after she read aloud excerpts from the alleged manifesto of the shooter in the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting, calling her a 'disgrace' and saying she should be ashamed of herself.

The confrontation unfolded during Trump's latest "60 Minutes" interview on CBS News on Sunday night, just hours after reports surfaced that 31-year-old Cole Allen had written a 1,052-word document outlining his motives just before he opened fire outside the White House Ballroom.

In the text, Allen claimed it was his "righteous duty" to target officials linked to the Trump administration.

Tensions escalated when journalist Norah O'Donnell quoted a line from the alleged manifesto: "I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes". The remark visibly angered Trump, who fired back immediately.

"Well, I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would because you're horrible people," Trump said, pushing back against the implication.

"Horrible people. Yeah, he did write that. I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody," the US President continued.

When asked if he believed the comment was directed at him, Trump responded emphatically, rejecting the accusation outright.

"I'm not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person? I got associated with all stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated," he said.

The President went further, suggesting that individuals on "the other side" had connections to figures like Jeffrey Epstein, while reiterating that the manifesto reflected the mindset of "a sick person".

"Your friends on the other side of the plate are the ones that were involved with, let's say, Epstein or other things. But I said to myself, 'You know, I'll do this interview and they'll probably' I read the manifesto. You know, he's a sick person. But you should be ashamed of yourself reading that because I'm not any of those things," Trump said.

Despite O'Donnell's clarification that she was merely quoting the suspect's words, Trump doubled down, calling her 'disgraceful' and questioning the editorial judgment behind airing the excerpts. "You shouldn't be reading that on '60 Minutes'. You are a disgrace. But go ahead, let's finish the interview," he said.

The exchange remained strained as O'Donnell attempted to move to another section of the manifesto, only for Trump to interrupt again, repeating his criticism.

Notably, Trump has never been charged with any crime related to the sensational Epstein Files case.

The controversy came in the wake of a security scare at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night. Allen allegedly stormed into the hotel armed with a shotgun and multiple knives, advancing toward the ballroom where Trump and nearly 2,500 attendees had gathered for the gala event.

Panic broke out inside the venue as guests in formal attire were instructed to lie on the floor. Trump, along with First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who were on stage at the time, were swiftly escorted to safety as security personnel neutralised the threat.

- Ends

Tune In