The following is the transcript of the interview with White House Correspondents’ Association President and senior CBS News correspondent Weijia Jiang that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on April 26, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re joined now by our Senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang, who’s currently serving as the president of the White House Correspondents Association. Weijia, thank you. It’s been a very intense last few hours. You had just welcomed everyone. You had just started off the evening when this event unfolded. I’ve seen video now of you- you crawling off of the stage as the president was being whisked to safety. What was going on back there? Why didn’t the president leave?
WEIJIA JIANG: Margaret, it all happened so fast, and when we were still on stage, we were in the middle of a very light moment with the entertainer who was doing a trick. And when I heard something in the audience, I thought it was a protester or something we’re very used to. But then when I saw SWAT team members come to the head table and rush us to the ground and say, down, down, down, we were crawling off the stage. And in the back, that is a holding area where people wait, including President Trump and distinguished guests, to go onto the stage. And we were sitting there, and I saw more than a dozen SWAT officers. There were members of the Secret Service milling about. There were members of the president’s team. And as you can imagine, a lot of conflicting information, because it had just unfolded. I will say it was remarkable to see that in action and to understand it was their quick work that protected all of us that night, not just the president, not just the cabinet, everybody in that hotel. And you know that is heartening, but obviously it was a tough situation for everybody that was there, including you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You were very stoic, though. You had great grace under pressure. You had to go out, you had to talk to everyone. And I know you shared that because you were in this role of the presidency, 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 it was so important for all of us to be gathered. How are you making sense of that? Have you? I think we’re processing this still.
WEIJIA JIANG: I think we’re all processing it. I have covered countless shootings and murders and terrible things in my career, and this is the first time that 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’re right that my family was in the audience, and it was incredibly meaningful to have them there. And so that added an additional complicated layer, because I’m thinking about the safety of my members, the safety of all of our dinner guests, and obviously at the forefront, the safety of the people who I can see, who matter the most to me. And we didn’t have information. So when I was in the back, I didn’t know if there was an active threat. I was watching the monitors and keeping my eyes right on their table. But at the same time trying to find more information so I could share it with everyone in that room. And President Trump called me to his holding room and briefed me before he sent out a post about the dinner being, in his words, postponed and that he was going to have a press conference. And he really wanted to talk it through and to explain that he himself realized how important that night was. It’s something we do every night, and when I did address the room, I reminded everyone that, you know, the freedoms that we are celebrating tonight in the First Amendment are still incredibly fragile. And I appreciate that the president acknowledged that, and he told me that we were not going to be deterred. He refused to stand down, and that’s why he was there, despite what had unfolded, and I don’t know what his team was telling him, they were relaying to me, the president keeps saying he’s not going anywhere, so that’s why he stayed.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We kept hearing that, with the he wants to come back and can we leave? 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 sharing with us. We’ll be right back.