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As the world continues to react to Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, MAGA activists are expressing their outrage at footage appearing to show attendees taking bottles of wine with them as they left the ballroom of the Washington Hilton.
The prestigious event was cancelled after a male assailant shot and injured a law enforcement officer before being detained near the hotel’s screening area.
Secret Service agents were seen rushing to US president Donald Trump and other cabinet officials amid the incident and escorting them to safety, while journalists took cover under their tables.
According to The New York Times, the man in custody has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from California, who now faces firearms and assault charges.
But after videos surfaced of people picking up bottles of alcohol on their way out, MAGA influencer Matt Wallace was among those who fumed about individuals allegedly ‘stealing bottles of wine’:
One ‘America First’ account branded it “absolutely disgusting”, while another wrote: “SHOTS FIRED!! Let’s steal some booze!”
But Brits aren’t buying it, with the Larry the Cat X/Twitter account arguing “not a single British person would bat an eyelid at this”:
“Pleased to see that there are some commonalities between Britain and America’s political press packs,” wrote Mail journalist Christian Calgie:
Broadcaster and commentator Narinder Kaur tweeted: “We Brits would have sat down and drank it AT THE TABLE and then we’ll leave thank you very much”:
Times Radio journalist Adam Boulton, meanwhile, noted that attendees pay for their tickets – as stated on the White House Correspondents Association’s own website:
Whatever you make of it, Trump has said the dinner will be rescheduled within a month, so there’ll likely be more drinks there…
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