Chaos ensued at the Washington Hilton hotel ballroom on Saturday night when a gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ dinner being attended by US President Donald Trump and prominent members of his administration.
The security teams jumped into action and evacuated Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Many attendees also panicked and rushed towards exits. But, in all the chaos, a man, identified by many journalists and news outlets as Creative Artists Agency’s (CAA) Michael Glantz, remained seated and engrossed in finishing up his salad.
A video of an unfazed-looking Glantz — known as “‘super agent” for representing top TV stars and other showbiz talent — went viral on social media after people spotted him calmly eating his salad on the CNN live feed, even as everyone around him ran for cover and towards exits.
Glantz is a prominent agent at CAA who represents major media figures, including CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, who was also present at the event and was reportedly forced to the ground by police during the chaos.
Glantz’s unfazed reaction to the shooting incident, which became the biggest headline all around the world, became a viral moment with widespread social media commentary.
A user called him “my man!”, while another pointed out that he “stood up when everyone was told to get down” — a play on an otherwise political line used against authoritarian rule.
Not the only one unfazed
While Michael Glantz’s unfazed reaction to the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was caught by social media, he wasn’t the only one who remained unfazed during the threat.
According to a New York Times report, the former Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein was sitting with CBS News journalists toward the front of the room when the emergency occurred. As the confusion unfolded, the report said that Blankfein turned to his seatmate and asked, “Are you going to finish that salad?”
The shooting incident
Donald Trump was unharmed, and other top White House officials were evacuated from the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents’ Association after a man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby and opened fire.
The shooting suspect was taken into custody and identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from Torrance, California, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.
A motive was not immediately known, and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said charges related to Saturday night’s attack will be filed shortly.
