The following is a transcript of an interview with White House Correspondents’ Association President and CBS News senior reporter Weijia Jiang that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on April 26, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re now joined by our senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang, who currently serves as president of the White House Correspondents Association. Weijia, thank you. It’s been very intense for the past few hours. He just welcomed everyone. You had just started the evening when this event happened. I’ve seen your video now – crawling off the stage when the president was taken to safety. What was going on back there? Why didn’t the president go?
WEIJIA JIANG: Margaret, it all happened very quickly, and when we were on stage, we were in the middle of a very light time with the entertainer who was doing the trick. And when I heard something from the audience, I thought it was a protester or something we are very familiar with. But then when I saw the members of the SWAT team coming to the main table and rushing us down and saying, down, down, down, we were crawling off the stage. And in the back, that’s the holding area where people are waiting, including President Trump and distinguished guests, to get on stage. And we were sitting there, and I saw over a dozen SWAT officers. There were members of the Secret Service milling around. There were members of the president’s team. And as you can imagine, a lot of conflicting information, because it was just happening. I will say that it was amazing to see that by the actions and the understanding that it was their quick work that protected all of us that night, not only the president, not only the cabinet, everyone in that hotel. And you know that’s exciting, but it was obviously a difficult situation for everyone there, including you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You had a strong heart, though. He was very gracious under pressure. You had to go out, talk to everyone. And I know that even if you had that because you were in this role of president, this was a proud moment for you. Your seven-year-old daughter was there, your parents were there, your husband was there. This was a lot. And I wonder what you think about this, and why- why was it so important that we all got together. How do you make sense of that? Do you too? I think we are still processing this.
WEIJIA JIANG: I think we are all considering it. I’ve covered a lot of shootings and murders and worse things in my career, and it’s the first time I’ve been on the other side of a potentially violent and deadly situation, and no amount of reporting can prepare you for that. You are right that my family was in the audience, and it was incredibly rewarding to have them there. And so that added a layer of complexity, because I’m thinking about the safety of my members, the safety of all our dinner guests, and obviously the top priority, the safety of the people that I see, that I care about the most. And we had no idea. So when I was in the background, I didn’t know if there was an active threat. I looked at the monitors and fixed my eyes on their desk. But at the same time I try to get more information so I can share it with everyone in that room. And President Trump called me in his last apartment and told me before he sent a message about the dinner, in his words, being postponed and that he was going to have a press conference. And he really wanted to talk about it and explain that he himself realized how important that night was. It’s something we do every night, and when I spoke to the room, I reminded everyone that, you know, the freedoms we’re celebrating tonight in the First Amendment are still incredibly fragile. And I’m thankful that the president agreed to that, and he told me that we will not be deterred. He refused to come down, that’s why he’s there despite what happened, I don’t even know what his team was telling him, they were referring me to me, the president keeps saying he’s not going anywhere, that’s why he’s staying.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We’ve been hearing that, he wants to come back and we can go? Weijia, I want- I want you to go home to your family. Thank you.
WEIJIA JIANG: Thank you, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Thank you very much for joining us. We will be right back.
