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She was praised by all quarters for her poise during the situation.
April 27, 2026, 03:46 PM
Weijia Jiang, a senior White House correspondent with CBS News, drew praise for her composure after gunshots disrupted the annual White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner in Washington, D.C. on Apr. 26.
Jiang, who serves as president of the correspondents’ association, had been seated onstage next to Donald Trump when the situation unfolded at the Washington Hilton ballroom.
Despite the disruption, she later resumed hosting duties and continued reporting shortly afterwards.
Unfounded online conspiracies also suggested she had something to do with the shooting. The most prominent was Xie Wanjun, a Chinese political activist in the U.S., who wondered if waving her hands had anything to do with the shooting, as well as who she was.
Xie is one of the founding members of the China Democratic Party who fled China in the 90s.
The X post has garnered over 11 million views, with most of the comments telling him her credentials as well as pointing out the absurdity of the suggestion.
Another tweet directed at Jiang also asked why she had purportedly reacted before the shooting.
Wang replied with context.
I was reacting to Oz doing a trick on the White House press secretary. If you watched the entire clip instead of just this one frame, you would see that.
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) April 27, 2026
Addressed guests after suspect detained before returning to report
According to The New York Times, Jiang addressed attendees after the suspect was taken into custody and calmly told guests that the evening’s programme would continue.
She later returned to the stage again to relay that law enforcement had requested the audience leave the venue “consistent with protocol.”
Hours later, still dressed in her evening attire, she appeared at a press conference where Trump invited her to ask the first question.
“Madam chairman,” Trump said. “I just want to say you did a fantastic job. What a beautiful evening.”
Jiang thanked him before asking:
“Can you describe what was going through your mind?”
Trump then described how Secret Service agents rushed him away from his seat between Jiang and Melania after the gunshots were heard.
In an internal memo shared with staff, CBS executives also commended Jiang’s handling of the situation.
“We are so proud of our Weijia Jiang,” they said. “She handled the entire situation with grace and calm — and went directly from the dais to the White House lawn, where she is currently reporting.”
Top image from CSpan via X and George Santos/X
