Entertainer 'locked eyes' with Trump amid Correspondents' Dinner shooting and thought pair 'about to die'

Mindreader Oz Pearlman who was entertaining Trump when shots rang out said he locked eyes with the President and feared they were going to die. He told of the terrifying moment a gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner as he performed a trick in front of the US President, the First Lady Melania and pregnant press secretary Karoline Leavitt. He had been chosen to host and headline the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton. In an Instagram post after the incident, Pearlman told of his fear a bomb was about to go off as a gunman opened fire. He said he was just "a couple of feet away" from Trump in what he described as the "scariest moment of my life." Cole Tomas Allen allegedly shot a Secret Service agent who survived thanks to a bullet proof vest and was stopped from entering the ballroom when he was tacked by the Secret Service. Trump and Melania were 'whisked' away in seconds, with the President appearing to get forced to the ground at one stage. The entertainer said he was performing for the president and First Lady Melania when he “looked up to see a commotion” and thought they were all going to die. Mr Pearlman posted: "Thank you all for checking on me. I am ok and thank God everyone is alright. "Was in the middle of performing for the President and First Lady when I looked up to see a commotion, thought it was a bomb about to go off or shots fired. We hit the deck fast and Secret Service acted decisively and professionally to protect us all. "We laid on the ground, I was a couple of feet away from President Trump, eyes locked with one another. It was likely the scariest moment of my life and will never forget it. So happy everyone is ok." Pearlman told CNN he initially thought there might be a bomb in the room, and he said he will "never forget the image" of the president on the floor "less than a foot" in front of him. He said: "They bring the president down directly in front of me, and we just look at each other for about two seconds, and my mind [is like], 'Oh, no. Are we about to die?' I thought it was about to explode. That was really my instinct." Mr Pearlman also told how he thought Trump had been hurt because the president "went down really hard" when he was brought to the ground by Secret Secret agents. He said: "It was a tackle ... and that would hurt anyone. " I don't care what age you are. So we were looking at each other. He was just looking, but the expression in his face didn't show whether there was pain or what was going on." After Trump was taken away, the performer said there was "chaos" backstage for several minutes, during which he didn't know whether the president was OK. He said: "No one really knew what had happened for an extended period, which was kind of jarring.". When the White House Correspondents’ Association announced Oz Pearlman was to be the "host and headline entertainer" they said they were "delighted". "As the world’s most celebrated mentalist, Oz Pearlman will offer a fascinating glimpse into what’s truly on the minds of Washington’s newsmakers,” said Weijia Jiang, president of the association. “We look forward to an exciting, fresh, and interactive evening as we celebrate the First Amendment and Washington news coverage together.” Mr Pearlman is an Emmy Award winner and New York Times bestselling author has performed for huge sports teams and A-list celebrities. “I am thrilled to be the featured entertainer at this year’s WHCA dinner and join the ranks of Frank Sinatra, Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien, among many other legends,” Mr Pearlman said about hosting the event. "This is a rare opportunity to gather so many accomplished, perceptive people in one place and invite them to share moments of wonder, surprise and awe.” According to USA Today, after several successful years on Wall Street he decided to pursue entertainment full-time. He was a breakout star on NBC’s America’s Got Talent with his apparent mind-reading mentalism routines. NBC said he later joined an elite group that includes David Blaine and David Copperfield by headlining his own network television special and earned an Emmy Award the following year. In April 2022, the married dad-of-five was featured on the cover of The New York Times after breaking the world record for the most miles ever run around Central Park in a single day, 116 miles, while raising more than $100,000 (£74,000) for Save the Children’s Ukraine Relief Fund.