Fact-check: Did Secret Service secure Vance before Trump during press dinner shooting?

A chaotic scene unfolded at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner on Saturday (April 25) night after a gunman opened fire near a security checkpoint. United States President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and Vice President JD Vance were whisked away from the stage in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton hotel in Washington DC as shots rang out just moments after the annual event to honour journalism began.

Footage from the high-profile event shows panicked faces with some guests ducking under tables and security agents rushing out Trump and his Cabinet members. Some people on social media have claimed that the Secret Service escorted Vance out before Trump when shots were heard.

But is this true? We take a look.

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Vance pulled out of chair at WHCA dinner

A video of a visibly perplexed US VP JD Vance being yanked out of his chair on stage at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner has gone viral.

As per CBS News, Secret Service agents ran onto the stage, where Trump, Melania, Vance and other dignitaries were seated, 12 seconds after shots were fired.

A video shows an agent grabbing the US vice president by the shoulders and pulling him away from his seat to the right of the stage.

Forensic lipreader Nicola Hickling told Metro.co.uk that a bodyguard apparently went up to Vance yelling, “Run, f***ing run.”

The VP responded, “What’s happening? I’m going” before leaving the stage hurriedly.

An X user, Christopher Greene, posted the clip and wrote, “SECRET SERVICE AGENTS RUSH JD VANCE OUT OF HARMS WAY BEFORE TRUMP !!!”

Other users questioned whether the Secret Service had prioritised Vance’s safety over the US president’s.

Was Vance escorted out before Trump?

Yes.

“POTUS is escorted offstage 20 seconds after the VP,” CBS News reported.

However, that is not the full story. A Secret Service agent blocked Trump with his body, while it took several seconds for the US president and the first lady to take cover.

One video also shows Trump apparently tripping before he is pulled away to the left of the stage.

As per Newsweek, he was kept at a secure presidential suite at the hotel.

"Secret Service protocol is pretty straightforward you split up the President and VP immediately so a single attack can’t take both out," a user wrote on X.

A source told Reuters that Trump stayed backstage about one hour, “We are staying,” he was overheard saying, as per the source.

“We wanted to stay tonight,” Trump told reporters at the White House after being evacuated from the hotel. “I fought like hell to stay.”

Did Secret Service follow protocol?

The Secret Service agents' movement were coordinated and strategically choreographed, Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications at the United States Secret Service, told Newsweek. 

“I understand things may look a certain way, but please know protective teams are in real-time radio communication and there is a methodical process for the safe relocation of protectees,” he said. “At every protective site, the Secret Service deploys a sophisticated, layered security framework. These measures are rigorously calibrated during the advance process and were critical in mitigating the threat and preventing significant harm.”

Experts also pointed out that Vance being escorted out before Trump did not mean the security personnel prioritised him.

Speaking to Newsweek, Mark Herrera, president and chief security strategist at Texas-based security and leadership training firm Global Awareness Professionals (GAP), said, “It typically means he was in a position to be safely and quickly extracted, while the president’s detail needed a few critical seconds to shield, assess the threat, and establish control before moving him,” he said.

“In executive protection, the objective is to avoid a single point of failure—separating protectees ensures that one threat cannot impact both at the same time.”

After the shooting incident, Trump praised the Secret Service, saying they acted "very quickly” and did a “really good job”.

The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old California tutor, is expected to a charged in federal court on Monday (April 27).

With inputs from agencies