Accused Correspondents’ Dinner gunman Cole Allen’s alleged manifesto refers to the president as a “pedophile, rapist, and traitor.”

Donald Trump berates 60 Minutes host Norah O’Donnell as ‘disgraceful’ for quoting alleged shooter’s manifesto to him

Accused Correspondents' Dinner gunman Cole Allen's alleged manifesto refers to the president as a "pedophile, rapist, and traitor."

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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April 26, 2026 9:12 p.m. ET

President Donald J. Trump was interviewed by Norah O Donnell for '60 Minutes' on April 26. Credit:

- Donald Trump lashed out at *60 Minutes *host Norah O'Donnell during a Sunday interview about Saturday's shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

- O'Donnell quoted to Trump from a manifesto linked to the alleged shooter, Cole Allen, which referred to the President as "a pedophile, rapist, and traitor."

- "I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would, because you're horrible people," Trump told O'Donnell, whom he also called "disgraceful."

Donald Trump was not happy with Norah O'Donnell during a segment of her *60 Minutes** *interview regarding Saturday's shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Gunfire rang out at the Washington Hilton ballroom in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, just as magician Oz the Mentalist attempted to guess the name of Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's unborn baby, around 8:35 p.m. ET. Trump, first Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and the rest of the administration were rushed backstage and to a secure holding room while Secret Service detained the alleged shooter, 31-year-old Cole Allen.

Less than 24 hours into the aftermath, Trump sat down for his first interview about the third attempt on his life since the 2024 presidential campaign. *60 Minutes *correspondent Norah O'Donnell, who has interviewed Trump on several occasions, spoke to the president on a wide range of topics regarding the shooting, from accusations of poor security to Melania's reaction, and — to his fiercest resistance — the alleged shooter's intentions in his own words.

NBC News quoted the alleged manifesto on Saturday, which an unnamed senior administration official told the outlet Allen had sent to family members within minutes of the shooting. On Sunday, the *New York Post** *published the alleged manifesto in full.

O'Donnell pointed the president to one particular section, which follows Allen's alleged apologies to family and friends, in which he notes, "I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes."

"I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would, because you're horrible people. He did write that. I'm not a rapist, I didn't rape anybody," Trump responded. O'Donnell noted that Allen doesn't refer to Trump by name in that section, but the president cut in: "Excuse me. I'm not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person. I get associated with stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated."

* *has reached out to representatives for The White House and *60 Minutes *for comment.

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Trump continued: "Your friends on the other side of the plate are the ones that were involved with, let's say Epstein, or other things. But I said to myself, you know, 'I'll do this interview.' I read the manifesto, you know. He's a sick person. But you should be ashamed of yourself reading that, because I'm not any of those things."

O'Donnell explained to Trump that she was quoting the alleged shooter, not applying those labels to him personally, stating, "Mr. President, these are the gunman's words." But he persisted, admonishing O'Donnell, "You shouldn't be reading that on *60 Minutes*. You're a disgrace, but let's go ahead and finish the interview... you're disgraceful."

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The president has been inundated with volumes of criticism for being named thousands of times in the files pertaining to the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which the Department of Justice began releasing in December. A February investigation by *The New York Times** *found upwards of 38,000 mentions of Trump, Melania, and his Mar-A-Lago residence in Florida among the files that have been released thus far.

Trump has admitted to a past friendship with Epstein, but has consistently denied all accusations of pedophilia, sexual assault, and impropriety.

Allen, meanwhile, is expected to be arraigned in a federal court on Monday. He has been charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence and with assault of a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.

You can watch O'Donnell's full interview with Trump above.

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