By: Erik Anderson, junior in journalism and mass communication
During my junior year at Iowa State, I was honored to win the 2026 Hugh S. Sidey award. This included a trip to D.C. for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Little did I know the chaos waiting to happen.
During my stay in our nation’s capital, I got a tour of the White House, the People’s House, and the Politico and AP newsrooms. Tremendous! Then I met with my fellow scholars, and we got a tour of the White House press briefing room. We also attended several panel discussions. Almost every conversation I had with my fellow scholars was fantastic. They were friendly and smiley, and just as quick to start a discussion as I was, or even quicker. The hotel I stayed at was great, too (although breakfast would have been nice).
But of course, the highlight of my visit was always going to be the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. And it was! I got there around 4:20 p.m., walking twenty or so minutes from my hotel in my tuxedo. Perhaps a risk, but I made it without a problem (and even got some compliments along the way). To actually enter the grounds of the hotel, I had to present my ticket. Once inside, I joined my fellow scholars in waiting around for about an hour to take a photo on the red carpet. Then we waited probably another hour just to get into the waiting room. After presenting my ticket again and going through metal detectors, I had to wait around in a room that became increasingly loud, but I managed to walk around and talk to random strangers, even getting a business card. Drinks were handed out, and no one bothered to check ID, but I stuck to juice and Sprite.
Entering the actual ballroom was the most exciting moment. I walked down the middle (which was difficult with all the tables) and made my way to our table. We had been put way off to the right side, but we weren’t actually that far from where the president sat. As I sat with my fellow scholars, it was brought to my attention that Tulsi Gabbard was sitting just below us, and next to her — Erika Kirk. I got up and, followed by a few of my fellow scholars, went up and introduced myself, first to Mrs. Gabbard, then to Mrs. Kirk.
My interaction with Mrs. Kirk was especially interesting. I told her I was an Iowa State student (she and JD Vance were scheduled to speak at Iowa State that following Thursday), and she seemed thrilled, asking about the Turning Point chapter at Iowa State. Then she stressed that we can always reach out to her for anything.
So that was quite the experience. It was surreal to meet people whom I had previously only seen on a screen. We went back to our tables and had our appetizer (I took one bite of the mozzarella and didn’t like it at all). The VIPs of the event were introduced — Trump and Vance and the others, including some people who had been at one of our panel discussions the day before.
They removed the appetizer, and we were leisurely conversing at our table. I was excited for the food and for Trump’s speech.
I remember hearing shouts and screams (and a few “Get downs!”). I briefly saw the whole room in motion, with people moving about and getting down, and secret service rushing up the aisle. I remember the girl sitting next to me pulled me down. Some people even got under the table.
I hadn’t heard any gunshots or seen anyone who might have been a shooter. Because of that, it seemed pretty obvious that no one had been hurt, though of course in the moment I couldn’t confirm that.
I remember there were a few people around me freaking out a bit. Someone said to cover our heads, if I remember correctly. I was pretty calm, actually. I don’t remember my heart rate going up at all (partially because I knew they weren’t shooting at me).
After a few minutes, everyone got up. It took a long time before they let us out, and by then I was ready to get back home. I didn’t have reception in the ballroom, and my phone died shortly after. But when I returned to my hotel, I found that plenty of people had texted me, wanting to confirm I was alright. That was heartwarming.
I returned home the next day, and although the dinner did not go the way I anticipated, it was still a night to remember.