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Trump Erupts in ‘60 Minutes’ Interview: ‘I’m Not a Pedophile’
President Donald Trump exploded at a reporter for quoting from the manifesto of the suspected gunman who opened fire near the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday. In an intervie...
Multiple outlets confirm the exchange: O’Donnell read lines from the alleged shooter’s manifesto, and Trump reacted angrily, calling her ‘horrible’ and a ‘disgrace.’ The Yahoo article reflects those verified facts, though the tone is more dramatic than neutral reporting.
President Donald Trump exploded at a reporter for quoting from the manifesto of the suspected gunman who opened fire near the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday.
In an interview with 60 Minutes correspondent Norah O’Donnell, the 79-year-old was presented with excerpts from Cole Tomas Allen’s manifesto, which the 31-year-old allegedly sent to his family moments before the shooting.
“The so-called manifesto is a stunning thing to read, Mr. President,” O’Donnell said. “He appears to reference a motive in it. He writes this quote, ‘Administration officials, they are targets.’”
O’Donnell then asked the president about his reaction to Allen’s rationalization that he was “no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”
“I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would, because you’re horrible people. Horrible people,” the president replied. “Yeah, he did write that. I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody.”
“Oh, do you think he was referring to you?” O’Donnell asked, before Trump interrupted.
“I’m not a pedophile. Excuse me. Excuse me. I’m not a pedophile. You read that c--- from some sick person? I got associated with stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated. 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.”
“You shouldn’t be reading that on 60 Minutes. You’re a disgrace. But go ahead. Let’s finish the interview,” he continued, adding, “You’re disgraceful.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and 60 Minutes for comment.
Trump exploded at correspondent Norah O'Donnell for quoting from the suspect's alleged manifesto. / 60 Minutes
The president has faced scrutiny for his close ties to convicted sex trafficker and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. One woman, who was interviewed by the FBI in 2019, accused Trump of sexually abusing her when she was 13. Trump has vehemently denied any wrongdoing in connection with his friendship with Epstein and has not been charged with any crime.
In a 2023 civil trial, a New York jury found that the president sexually abused journalist E. Jean Carroll in 1996. The 81-year-old Carroll was ultimately awarded $83 million in damages for defamation, in addition to $5 million she had been separately awarded after another jury found Trump liable for the sexual assault claims. Trump failed in his bid to overturn the $83 million defamation verdict.
E. Jean Carroll departs a Manhattan federal court at the conclusion of her defamation suit against Trump on Jan 26, 2024. / Spencer Platt / Getty Images
In addition to explaining his motive for attempting to storm the Washington Hilton on Saturday, the suspect’s alleged manifesto also revealed at least one Trump administration official who was not a target.
“Administration officials (not including Mr. Patel): they are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” Allen allegedly wrote, referring to FBI Director Kash Patel.
Trump speaks next to Patel and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin at a press briefing at the White House, following a shooting incident during the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. / Jonathan Ernst / REUTERS
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The suspect also allegedly criticized how lax security surrounding the event was, writing, “What the hell is the Secret Service doing?”
The California educator, who was allegedly armed with a shotgun, handgun, and multiple knives when he attempted to enter the ballroom of the Washington Hilton on Saturday, wrote that he “expected security cameras at every bend, bugged hotel rooms, armed agents every 10 feet, metal detectors out the wazoo.”
“What I got (who knows, maybe they’re pranking me) is nothing,” he allegedly wrote. “No damn security. Not in transport. Not in the hotel. Not in the event.”
“I walk in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat.”
The Daily Beast’s Executive Editor Hugh Dougherty, whose hotel room was located next door to Allen’s, described the sequence of events that allowed Allen to get as far as he did as a “security fiasco.”
“How on earth could someone with a disassembled long gun check into a room at a hotel where the president was going to speak? I can answer that: Nobody even looked at my luggage on Friday afternoon,” Dougherty explained.
