Mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner host, was in the middle of a mentalism trick in front of the POTUS, FLOTUS, and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt when a shooting incident disrupted the event. The interruption brought his performance to a sudden halt, leaving the trick unresolved as attendees reacted to the alarming situation.

Oz Pearlman Explains The Magic Trick He Was Performing At WHCD

Mentalist and magician Oz Pearlman was the featured entertainer and host at the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner held on April 25 at the Washington Hilton hotel. Clips at the event showed Pearlman interacting with President Donald Trump, Melania Trump, and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, showing them a sheet of paper with something written on it shortly before shots were fired.

After the incident, Pearlman talked to ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl, revealing what his trick was about. Backstage, Leavitt, who is due to give birth soon, challenged him to guess what name she chose for her daughter. Before he could continue with the trick, however, Trump arrived, and he told Leavitt, “Let’s save it for when we get up on the dais.”

The video clips circulating showed the moment Pearlman approached Trump, Melania, and Leavitt to show them his trick.

The Mentalist Was Interrupted By The Commotion

Pearlman was guessing the name of Leavitt’s baby letter by letter during the interaction and recalled, “Then right at the moment where you see it happen, I wrote down the name and I said, ‘How did I do?’ And I turned around that’s when you see the first lady go, ‘Oh! Is that the name?”

Before Leavitt could confirm, however, the trick was interrupted by a commotion, and people were evacuated out of the ballroom to safety. As previously reported by The Blast, gunshots were fired, though it wasn’t initially clear who the shooter’s target was. He was later identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen.

Although his trick was left on a cliffhanger, Pearlman told Karl that he later found out that he had guessed the baby’s name correctly and had Leavitt’s permission to share it. The name he wrote on the paper was “Vivian.” “That’s what’s on the paper,” Pearlman said.

Oz Pearlman Thought He Was Going To Die

Allen was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives. Reports indicate that one Secret Service Agent was shot, but he was protected by his bulletproof vest and was later released from the hospital. The shooter was apprehended before he could enter the ballroom, and no one else was harmed.

During the commotion, Pearlman initially thought there was a medical emergency, but later realized something bigger was unfolding. “I thought there was about to be a bomb. I really, very much thought, ‘Oh my god, it’s about to explode,’ because of the way it was being approached,” Pearlman told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Pearlman got down on the ground on all fours and couldn’t forget the moment he locked eyes with Trump, thinking he was going to die. “They bring the president down directly in front of me and we just look at each other for about two seconds,” he shared.

The Mentalist Hoped To Bring People Together At The WHCD

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner has invited comedians and TV stars to host in past years, and when Pearlman got the call, he thought it was a mistake. In an interview with NPR days before the event, the mentalist said he hoped to bring the people together with his tricks.

“[People in the room] don’t necessarily agree on how the country is being governed or the war or economy or a million different things… I think that for 25 minutes they’re going to laugh, they’re going to applaud, they’re going to have their jaws drop,” Pearlman shared.

Pearlman wasn’t able to finish his headlining performance, but according to reports, the WHCD will be rescheduled within the next 30 days, with Trump saying it will be “bigger and better.”

Sara Haines Gave Heads-Up On Oz Pearlman At The WHCD

In the April 24 episode of The View, journalist Sara Haines jokingly said Pearlman was keeping her from attending the WHCD, in reference to a 2025 episode where the mentalist correctly guessed and revealed her ATM PIN on air, which left her infuriated.

Former strategist and Press Secretary of the Department of Defense, Alyssa Farah Griffin, also chimed in, saying she agreed with Haines. “Is he going to shout out the nuclear codes? How can we trust this man at this dinner?” Haines then issued a warning, saying, “I’m going to warn everyone at that dinner: Tell him nothing!”