Donald Trump took a sarcastic dig at the Secret Service agents for not picking him up like a “little boy” during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting incident. Trump said, “I thought you did a great job two weeks ago, you know why? Because I’m here!”
He continued, “I saw them take JD [Vance] by the shoulders and lift him up like he was a little boy,” said Trump. I said, ‘How come they didn’t lift me up so fast?’ JD got rifted out of the chair, that was the view of the week!” Trump said this during the Police Week dinner at the White House Rose Garden.
Trump on Secret Service: I saw them take JD Vance by the shoulders and lift him up like he was a little boy. How come they did not lift me up so fast? pic.twitter.com/p5VY70T1M2
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 12, 2026
After the incident, the clips of Secret Service agents removing JD Vance from the venue went viral. He was taken to safety even before Trump. This sparked comments that the move was deliberate. Trump did explain that the delay in his rescue was because of him, since he wanted to see what was happening. He noted, “And I was surrounded by great people, and I probably made them act a little bit more slowly. I said, ‘Wait a minute, wait a minute. Let me see, wait a minute.’”
He explained there was a delay of a few seconds, and the officials were following emergency protocol during the shooting. Trump’s joke that the Secret Service agents lifted Vance also ignited sarcastic comments on the internet. Some users even created AI images of him being lifted.
He's mad because Secret Service saved JD Vance first pic.twitter.com/TSLYoVxynr
— Will1 ⚓️ (@Will_Chrs) May 12, 2026
One user commented, “America collapsing, Trump’s brain melting in real time, yet he’s whining they lifted Vance but not him. This s-nile clown is our leader. Heavenly Father, make it stop.” Some users also pointed out that Trump sounds upset and jealous since the agents chose to rescue Vance first. Some netizens also thought this remark could be a sign of a fracture between Trump and Vance’s relationship and not just a joke.
Meanwhile, Mark Herrera, president and chief security strategist at Global Awareness Professionals, assured that security coming to safeguard Vance first does not mean they prioritized him over Trump. Herrera explained they were assessing the threat and trying to establish more control in the situation.
Apart from Vance, Trump has also used the term “little boy” for his son Barron Trump. While honoring military mothers during the Mother’s Day event, he praised his wife and said, “She’s an incredible mom. She has a little boy who’s quite tall! A little boy to us, but he’s quite tall. And he’s great, Barron.” During the same event, Melania Trump made the crowd laugh with her empathy remarks for Trump.
