Oz Perlman was revealing the name of Caroline Leavitt’s unborn daughter to Donald Trump at the exact moment dozens of armed federal agents stormed the Washington Hilton ballroom.
The Mentalist was likely on the verge of entering the president’s mind Saturday night when a 31-year-old Los Angeles teacher burst into the White House Correspondents’ Dinner with two guns and fired at law enforcement. There were no fatalities and the suspect is in custody.
“My son’s biggest concern was whether he had a Pokemon card signed by Donald Trump,” Perlman told Variety from the back seat of an Uber shortly after arriving in New York from Washington, D.C. Her normally cheerful voice sounded hoarse. (“It’s a long night,” he says.)
Before the annual bipartisan celebration began, Perlman met with Trump and the first lady backstage, where Trump expressed enthusiasm for his act. This year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner was the first attended by President Trump during his term, and the first time The Mentalist was the headliner.
“He shook my hand and said he had heard how great I was, that he was so excited, and that he was going to stay on my show,” Perlman says. “That was a big check mark, because it was never a sure thing. I immediately texted my wife, ‘Great news, the show is going to be great.'”
Once out in the ballroom and the Pledge of Allegiance began the event, Perlman immediately began work on the room. “I didn’t eat a single bite of salad,” he says. “I have to do the work.” He eventually took the stage and impressed J.D. Vance with some magic tricks. (Perlman, who has become Hollywood’s favorite mentalist, is known for guessing people’s ATM PIN numbers and predicting the outcome of seemingly random events.)
Mr. Vance encouraged Mr. Perlman to perform in the presidential race, and CBS anchor Weijia Jiang helped bring Mr. Perlman into the conversation with Mr. Trump and his press secretary. Levitt and Melania Trump. Backstage, Leavitt challenged Perlman to guess the name of the baby due next week. In an attempt to rescue Trump’s tricks, Perlman finally began to “piece together” the names, and was seen in news reports writing “Vivian” on a piece of notebook paper. When Perlman tore up the page and showed it to Leavitt, Melania, and the president, a crisis erupted in the D.C. hotel ballroom.
“You could see the reaction to this trick. Everyone was like, ‘Wow!’ But at that exact moment, as people started crawling under tables, we saw dozens of people (SWAT team and military) with guns running into the center of the room,” Perlman recalled. Thinking there was going to be an explosion, Trump immediately fell to the floor as two Secret Service agents “shoved” him to the ground.
“He landed right next to me,” Perlman says of the president. “We were staring eye to eye from a foot away and I thought, oh my god, I’m going to die.”
At that time, a gunshot was heard.
Perlman said Trump seemed “surprised” that he was on the ground, but was “very aware.” “I don’t know if he was scared,” Perlman said. “It was a very serious situation, and I have to think there was fear within all of us.” About two seconds later, the president limped out of the room.
“I was thinking, has he been shot? Everything slowed down. I couldn’t understand what was happening,” Perlman says. He began crawling military-style toward the backstage door, where he stood for several minutes, guarded by federal agents. “There was no real communication at all,” he says. “We heard someone was killed, then we heard there was a shooter, and then we heard they were looking for another shooter.”
Perlman says everyone was crying and shaking backstage. “Your body is flooded with adrenaline. It’s a complete fight-or-flight situation.” Still, the gunman didn’t stop The Mentalist and his wife and manager, Elisa, from attending the afterparty.
“It was bittersweet,” Perlman says of the night. “I’m really glad nothing happened. No one got hurt. But the bittersweet thing is, it was supposed to be a great night. I had planned something so unique and exceptional that it should have made a huge impact. I’m sad that I didn’t get to experience that moment, but given the circumstances, that’s very much a secondary concern.”
Perlman declined to tease the tricks he was planning on the president, as Trump has promised to attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner scheduled for the next 30 days. Perlman said she has been invited again and would love to attend when the time comes.
For now, Perlman is reading “insane” internet conspiracy theories and laughing at black jokes on social media.
“If I had been killed, people would forever say, ‘Why didn’t you see this coming?'” Perlman says. “That’s the worst way to die for a mentalist. The memes are too good.”
