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President Donald Trump on Monday said he did not call to check on ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl following last month’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.
The annual WHCA Dinner was interrupted when an armed gunman rushed past a security checkpoint during an apparent assassination attempt. The gunman was subsequently tackled to the ground and taken into custody. No one was seriously injured in the chaos, but Trump was rushed off-stage as thousands of attendees ducked for cover under their ballroom tables. The following morning, Karl told ABC viewers that Trump called his home to see if he was OK, but the president insists he never made the call.
“Jonathan Karl, of ABC Fake News, made a statement that I called him early in the morning, the day after the assassination attempt, to ask whether or not HE was OK. No, this was a hit on ME, not HIM, and I didn’t make such a call, why would I do that? He called me, but I didn’t take his call — He just confirmed that to me when he called again. I would say that’s very dishonest reporting,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
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Trump continued, “He’s trying to make himself look important but, I’m not surprised, because it comes from ABC Fake News!”
Trump’s social media post contradicts what Karl said on ABC’s “This Week” the morning after the WHCA Dinner.
“My phone rang shortly after 7 a.m.… my landline, George, actually a number that few people call, and it was President Trump calling. He said, at first, he was calling to see if I was OK with what happened last night, ‘Are you OK?’ Then he reiterated many of the things he said in his press conference,” Karl told George Stephanopoulos on the Sunday program.
ABC News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Cole Allen, 31, is facing federal charges of attempting to assassinate the President of the United States, transporting a gun across state lines and discharging a gun during a crime of violence after he allegedly ran through a Secret Service checkpoint and opened fire just one floor from where the president and several high-level Cabinet officials were attending the gala.
Authorities have pointed to an alleged manifesto penned by Allen indicating that he intended to target Trump and members of his administration over political grievances.
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Trump has been an outspoken critic of ABC News, regularly accusing the Disney-owned outlet of bias against him.
ABC famously settled a defamation lawsuit in 2025 with then-President-elect Trump for $15 million, after Stephanopoulos repeatedly and incorrectly asserted Trump had been found “liable for rape” in a civil trial last year. ABC additionally paid $1 million for President Trump’s legal fees.
Trump has also called for ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over the comedian’s controversial “expectant widow” joke.
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Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.