First Lady Melania Trump will not join the president at the do-over of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Friday evening.
A White House spokesperson confirmed a report on Fox News that stated Melania has a prior commitment.
The first lady was at the annual dinner in April when a gunman rushed through a security checkpoint at The Washington Hilton in an attempt to harm senior members of the Trump administration. Law enforcement stopped the gunman from entering the room where officials and journalists sat.
Though no one was seriously injured, the first lady, who has long held security concerns, appeared visibly shaken.
Other top administration officials will also skip the event due to prior commitments, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Melania is known for being intensely private and selective about public appearances.
After she joined her husband for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April, she experienced what Trump called “a rather traumatic event.”
“I don’t want to say, and people don’t like having it said that they were scared, but certainly, I mean, who wouldn’t be when you have a situation like that?” Trump told CBS’s “60 Minutes” after the shooting.
It was clear the first lady was panicked when she heard gunshots outside of the hotel ballroom where journalists and administration officials sat. In video of the moment the president was rushed out of the room, Melania could be seen, eyes wide and mouth agape.
Hours later, while in the White House Briefing Room with her husband and other officials, Melania still appeared visibly shaken.
The White House Correspondents Association is putting on another dinner after the first one was canceled due to the shooting. This time, it will take place at the Waldorf Astoria, and security is expected to be heightened.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran told reporters Wednesday that threat levels were “off the charts” due to the current political climate. More than 10,000 threats have been made against government officials, including Supreme Court justices, so far this year, according to the Secret Service. That’s 40 percent higher than the same time period last year.
Curran assured people that his team would “evaluate every site” and that an advance team had already been deployed to set up a security plan.
