Contrary to most people’s reaction to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (WHCD) gunfire incident, Dana White seemingly expressed exhilaration on the matter.
In the aftermath of the WHCD shooting, the UFC President and CEO spoke with USA Today to weigh in on the unforeseen occurrence that took place at the Washington Hilton hotel in Washington, D.C., on Apr. 25.
“All of a sudden, it just started getting noisy. Tables started getting flipped over, guys running in with guns, and they were screaming, ‘Get down!'”
Dana White added:
“I didn’t get down. It was f*****g awesome, and I literally took every minute of it in. It was a pretty crazy, unique experience.”
The UFC boss was in attendance and seated in front of President Trump when the shooting began. Afterward, the Secret Service agents quickly arrived at the scene.
“Nobody got tackled, but guys came in looking for the shooter. And they came toward our table. I thought the shooter was over by us or something.”
Dana White’s response to WHCD did not take long to generate responses from online users.
“A literal bread-and-circus,” one X/Twitter user wrote.
“Dana called gunfire ‘awesome’ while everyone else hit the floor. Who’s buying him a PR class?” another one commented.
“I smell something fishy,” an online user said.
“If true, that’s a pretty careless way to describe a dangerous situation. Violence isn’t entertainment,” one penned.
“How many times has he been hit in the head over the years?” another replied.
“This guy is a meat head,” an internet user tweeted.
“Calling a shooting ‘awesome’ feels deeply insensitive. For many people, that moment was fear, not entertainment,” another posted.
WHCD to be rescheduled within 30 days, Trump says
Following the incident, Trump had a press conference in which he stated that he would postpone the WHCD within 30 days.
“We’re going to do it again. We’re not going to let anybody take over our society. We’re not going to cancel things out, because we can’t do that.”
Meanwhile, the alleged WHCD gunman has been identified as Cole Allen, a mechanical engineering degree holder from Caltech, and later on a game developer and teacher.
In a resurfaced February 2017 video, Cole Allen is seen presenting his wheelchair prototype meant to make older users’ lives easier.
“The wheelchair brakes tend to lock the wheels, but don’t actually lock the chair to the ground. The idea with this is to prevent it from moving at all.”
Shortly after the news broke, the institution where Cole Allen works as a part-time instructor released a statement expressing its disappointment.
“Such acts betray our values as a university and our commitment to fostering a safe environment for our campus communities.”
Edited by Gladys Altamarino