Mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was set to perform at the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, shared chilling details of the shooting incident that unfolded outside the ballroom. In an interview with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, Pearlman recounted the terrifying moments that followed a gunman’s attack near the event.
The Moment of Fear
Pearlman described the terrifying moment when the Secret Service forced President Donald Trump to drop to the ground for safety. “When I dropped down, and dropped down to all fours, and I’m waiting and bracing because I think a bomb’s going to go off, I watch the two Secret Service guys get behind the president, bring him down,” Pearlman recalled. “And just by pure chance, he gets brought down. We’re facing up to directions right next to me.”
The mentalist revealed that his first thought when he found himself side-by-side with Trump was, “Oh no, are we about to die?” He admitted that he couldn’t gauge the president’s condition in the chaos, stating, “His eyes weren’t registering … It seemed to me like he was in shock.” Pearlman noted that the way the Secret Service tackled the president was unexpected and violent, which made him believe the threat was immediate and serious.
The Backstage Chaos
After being forced to the ground, Pearlman described the scene backstage as “crazy.” “So we get backstage, we’re all standing. There’s so many people with guns going by, and so we’ve got SWAT team—full tactical, like assault rifles. There’s also [a] dude just walking around with handguns,” he explained.
Pearlman’s description of the backstage area painted a scene of confusion and panic, with law enforcement quickly responding to the situation.
A Split-Second Shift from Magic to Crisis
What made the moment even more surreal was that the shooting happened immediately after Pearlman had just performed a mentalism trick.
He had successfully guessed the name of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s unborn child, a trick that had left the room amazed. Pearlman shared that the timing of the shooting was almost uncanny. “It happened at a split second after the reveal,” he said. “If you watch, the craziest part about it is, it happened at a split second after the reveal.
So if you watch everyone around me, [gasps], they look amazed, because the trick was really good. And then we all saw it. Same moment.”
The Trick
Pearlman revealed that the trick involved him correctly guessing the name of Leavitt’s unborn child. “I was guessing what her unborn child’s name was going to be,” he said, explaining that he had received Leavitt’s permission to share the trick with the public.
The stark contrast between the amazement of the crowd moments before the shooting and the sudden shift to panic made the entire situation even more jarring for Pearlman and everyone in attendance.
