Featured Image Credit: Tom Williams / Contributor via Getty
Erika Kirk was one of the many high profile figures evacuated from the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night, and she has since issued a statement on social media addressing the incident.
The Washington Hilton was plunged into chaos on April 25 when a gunman appeared to open fire at the security screening checkpoint whilst the White House Correspondents' Dinner was currently ongoing.
Revealed in a manifesto sent to his family to coincide with the attack, suspected shooter Cole Tomas Allen had planned to eliminate members of the current administration from 'highest to lowest', indicating that President Donald Trump was his primary target.
He specifically outlined his inability to abide by a nation that placed a "pedophile, rapist, and traitor" in charge, and while some have called the incident a 'hoax' after the fact, it was understandably treated with seriousness at the time.
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Amid the panic that saw major individuals like JD Vance and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. rushed out of the building, Erika Kirk was also recorded during her evacuation with camera footage notably capturing her crying and asking to be taken home.
While some have compared her reaction in this understandably stressful moment to the typically pyrotechnic-filled events that she frequented following her husband's death, others have offered their sympathy despite not always agreeing with her political positions.
Issuing her first official response following the incident, Erika Kirk took to X with a statement that clarified her thoughts on the matter:
"Saturday was yet another traumatic example of the evil in our country and the continued rise in political violence," Kirk declared, making reference to the killing of her husband that many on the right believe was politically motivated.
She also added that she's "taking time to spend with my family," noting that she "will be joining The Charlie Kirk Show Wednesday at 12PM ET to briefly address what took place. Enough is enough."
Only two individuals were injured as a result of the attack and no deaths have been reported, although not everyone appears to have been as shaken by the event as Kirk, including the president himself.
Donald Trump had a rather incensed reaction to the manifesto during an interview with 60 Minutes, yet claimed that he 'wasn't worried' about the threat, adding in reference to himself that he "can't imagine that there's any profession that's more dangerous."
What's more, UFC CEO Dana White appeared to treat the incident as more of an experience, revealing to reports in the aftermath that there were "tables getting flipped over, guys running in with guns and they were screaming, 'Get down!', I didn't get down — it was f***ing awesome. I literally took every minute of it in. It was a pretty crazy, unique experience."
