Former deputy press secretary Harrison Fields praised President Donald Trump’s strength and reassurance following the chaos at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where panic ensued after shots were fired.

“We thank the president for his strength during a time when our nation and everyone in that immediate moment needed it,” Fields said Sunday on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”

Chaos broke out at the event Saturday night when suspected gunman Cole Allen reportedly stormed a security checkpoint and opened fire. 

Fields described “pandemonium” in the ballroom after shots were fired and said it took more than a minute before attendees on stage, including Trump and first lady Melania Trump, were aware of the possible danger. 

Despite the confusion, Fields said the president wanted to return to the stage when the threat was no longer present.

“When we heard he wanted to come back out, we all kind of chuckled and said, ‘Of course he does, because that’s exactly who he is.'”

TRUMP PRAISES PRESS AFTER WHCD SHOOTING, SAYS UNITY AT DINNER WAS ‘BEAUTIFUL’

“In a moment of chaos and uncertainty, he gave us transparency. He gave us clarity. And he gave his reassurance that we were not going to be cowards in this moment,” Fields said.

Cole Allen, a 31-year-old computer scientist from Torrance, California, was identified as the suspect accused of opening fire at the Washington Hilton Hotel.

During a news conference Saturday night, authorities said Allen was armed with multiple weapons when he rushed a Secret Service checkpoint. He then allegedly opened fire on a Secret Service officer, who was taken to the hospital after being shot in his ballistic vest.

SECRET SERVICE IN LINE OF FIRE AT WHCA SHOOTING STILL UNPAID DUE TO DEM-LED SHUTDOWN

Agents reportedly fired back at Allen, who was not struck. He was also taken to the hospital.

Fields said he noticed a lack of security checkpoints ahead of the main event, where cabinet secretaries and high-level officials were in attendance.

“And there was not a security apparatus leading up to that point. So I think there’s going to have to be a buffer. Of course, everyone can Monday morning quarterback, and we have to agree that the Secret Service and local law enforcement took immediate steps to keep us safe. But there was no real buffer, and that was one of the immediate feelings I felt as soon as I walked into the hotel.”

When a Hollywood power couple marriage falls apart and ends in divorce, the news of the split inevitably becomes tabloid fodder.

However, many A-list celebrities have made the decision to transform the pain of their failed marriage into a lifelong friendship with their former partner, something that previously has been unusual in the business.

Jennifer Aniston most recently liked ex-husband Justin Theroux’s baby announcement — which he shared in a joint Instagram post with his wife Nicole Brydon Bloom. Aniston and Theroux were married from 2015 until 2018, and have remained friends since their divorce.

Other stars who have remained friendly with their exes include Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, Courtney Cox and David Arquette, and more.

SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS TOPPED CELEBRITY SCANDALS OF 2024

In 2024, Theroux told The Times that Aniston “is still very dear to me.”

Theroux and Bloom got engaged in 2024 and married the following year.

Aniston is currently in a relationship with Jim Curtis.

GWYNETH PALTROW EMBRACES TREND OF LIVING APART FROM SPOUSE AS EXPERTS WARN IT CAN MAKE OR BREAK A MARRIAGE

Aniston reacted to her ex-husband Theroux sharing news that he and wife Bloom welcomed their first child.

The star liked the post announcing the news on Instagram.

The picture featured Theroux cradling his newborn son on his chest. Theroux and Bloom posted the joint photo with the caption: “He’s here. We are so in love.”

BRAD PITT, ANGELINA JOLIE REACH DIVORCE SETTLEMENT AFTER BITTER 8-YEAR LEGAL BATTLE

Paltrow and Martin split in 2014 via “consciously uncoupling,” but the former lovebirds have remained friends since.

Last year, Paltrow talked about the status of her relationship with Martin, whom she shared two children with.

Paltrow told Vanity Fair: “It’s not quite brother, but we are complete family. He is there for me through anything, and vice versa,” she said of Martin.

KATY PERRY AND JUSTIN TRUDEAU SPARK DATING RUMORS, JOINING HIGH STAKES WORLD OF CELEB-POLITICIAN ROMANCES

Ben Affleck and ex-wife Jennifer Garner have also maintained friendly relations despite splitting in 2015.

Last year, Garner wished Affleck a happy Father’s Day on her Instagram, posting a picture of him with one of their kids. She captioned it: “Happy Father’s Day to 3 people’s favorite landing spot.” 

Affleck told GQ in January 2025 that he is “really lucky” to have a “really good co-parent and partner in Jennifer Garner.”

CHRISTINA HAACK ACCUSES ESTRANGED HUSBAND OF ‘INTIMIDATION’ AFTER ALLEGEDLY SPOTTING HIM IN HER NEIGHBORHOOD

The actor added that Garner is “wonderful and great and we work together well.”

In 2016, Garner explained why she became friends with Affleck despite their divorce.

“The main thing is these kids. And we’re completely in line with what we hope for them,” she told Vanity Fair. “If you see your kids love someone so purely and wholly, then you’re going to be friends with that person,” she told Vanity Fair.

NICOLE KIDMAN, RACHEL RAY, TED DANSON KEEP MARRIAGES HOT WITH UNCONVENTIONAL RULES

Demi Moore has been supportive of ex-husband Bruce Willis — even almost 30 years after their divorce. They were married from 1987 until 2000.

Moore and Willis, who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023, share three daughters together: Rumer, Tallulah and Scout.

On Willis, Moore told People last year “that regardless of what the outside relationship has been, we have maintained being a family in various forms. The foundation of making our children our priority has never wavered.”

CHANNING TATUM AND HIS GIRLFRIEND INKA WILLIAMS PUT THEIR PDA ON DISPLAY DURING COSTA RICA TRIP

After they split, Moore and Willis still attended premieres together and traveled to Paris — and during the COVID pandemic, they isolated together.

Moore attended his wedding to his now-wife Emma Heming in 2009, four years after he attended her wedding to then-husband Ashton Kutcher.

Willis welcomed two more daughters with Heming: Mabel and Evelyn.

ORLANDO BLOOM ADDRESSES KATY PERRY BREAKUP IN FIRST PUBLIC COMMENTS SINCE SPLIT

After his diagnosis, Moore signed a note alongside Heming and his five children: “We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him. As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’ and together we plan to do just that.”

Courteney Cox and David Arquette are another friendly ex-couple.

The duo, who are parents to daughter Coco, were married from 1999 until their divorce in 2013.

JOHN STAMOS AND JERRY O’CONNELL BURY THE HATCHET AFTER YEARSLONG RIFT OVER REBECCA ROMIJN

Cox and Arquette also worked on Scream 5 in 2022 and Scream 7, released earlier this year.

In 2010, he spoke about working with his ex-wife during an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

“Well, we co-parent. So, we’re in touch quite a bit. It’s great. But we always love working together.”

NICOLE KIDMAN’S FIRST POST-DIVORCE INSTAGRAM POST LEAVES A-LIST FRIENDS STUNNED

Adding: “She’s an incredible actress, so it’ll be fun to bring these characters back to life and see where they’re at… co-starring’s the easy part.”

Cox recently cast David’s sister Patricia Arquette for her new project, “Evil Genius.” Cox serves as the director and as one of the movie’s producers.

Miranda Kerr revealed in February that while her marriage to Orlando Bloom didn’t bring “out the best in each other,” their relationship post-divorce has been much different.

The Victoria’s Secret model said that “Orlando and I are great friends,” during an appearance on “We Need To Talk” podcast in February.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

The duo share a son, Flynn, and Kerr said they both prioritized him by working to “completely forgive each” other and “make peace.”

The supermodel noted that “having animosity towards someone else because they didn’t live up to your expectations is very draining.”

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

“I just wished him a happy birthday and he told me, thank you to me for being such a wonderful mother to Flynn and a great friend to him, and how grateful he is to have me in his life. And I feel the same.”

Kerr appeared at the Environmental Working Group’s Know Your Worth Earth Day Dinner on April 22, and spoke to E! News about her co-parenting relationship with Bloom.

“Put the needs of the child first. That’s so important to think about, ‘Is this in the best interest for the child?’ And that’s what we’ve done from day one with Flynn, and that’s helped navigate so many challenging situations that have come up. Kids first,” she told the outlet.

Bloom and his ex-fiancée Katy Perry also co-parent their daughter Daisy.

A source told People in December that “they’re both super committed to keeping this family dynamic,” noting that it’s “all amicable and pretty easy.”

Perry, who is in a relationship with Justin Trudeau, recently shared an image of Bloom with Daisy on her Instagram — proving they are friends.

Comedian Derrick Stroup knows he’s a fish out of water in New York City. He can tell by how his accent “stops traffic in a bodega.” But the Alabama native isn’t changing who he is for the Big Apple. Instead, he’s bringing the “playing in the dirt” toughness of his 1990s upbringing to the comedy world.

His latest Netflix special, “Nostalgic,” serves as a high-energy wake-up call for a generation of kids he says aren’t built for the playground games of his youth. “Some of the games we played, you could not bring back,” Stroup told Fox News Digital.

“I mean, you couldn’t bring back the purple nurple. These kids aren’t built for it,” he said. “‘Safe space, safe space!’ They’d be in a panic.”

The comic said his stand-up style has been described as “Bill Burr raised in the woods,” and noted his special is a tribute to something that most people can relate to: growing up. It’s a perspective that’s resonated with audiences across the country, landing his special in the Netflix Top 10.

‘ROASTMASTER’ JEFF ROSS SHREDS CANCEL CULTURE: PEOPLE ‘DON’T WANT THEIR COMEDY WATERED DOWN’

While he’s living in New York now, Stroup said he remains a Southerner at heart who continues to experience the culture shock of living in the North. He noted that something as simple as communication is different. Whereas in New York a horn is a way to say hello, in Alabama it could quickly “turn into an altercation.”

He also admits he hasn’t found a local diner that can match the grit and charm of a Waffle House. “I miss a sweet woman with red lipstick on that smells like cigarettes that’s refilling my sweet tea,” Stroup said. “That’s hard to find up North.”

But Stroup’s rise to the Netflix stage wasn’t an overnight success. He spent a decade in retail management, working overnights and selling furniture to keep the pressure on himself. He said he purposefully didn’t want a “Plan B” that ever felt too comfortable.

“I can promise you, as a manager in Big Lots, I was not like, ‘This is my end game,’” he said jokingly, adding that there were times when he went without healthcare. “I always made sure that I kind of positioned myself in the room to where comedy was my only way out.”

COMEDIANS TURN ‘FAT SHAMING’ JOKE ON JOE ROGAN’S PODCAST INTO ANNUAL 5K THAT IS CHANGING LIVES

Stroup practices clean comedy, meaning he keeps the language toned down and topics lighthearted. But his delivery is anything but quiet. He described himself as an “observational, ranty type of comedian” who gets worked up over the smallest inconveniences.

“I’m naturally an emotional man. I run hot,” Stroup said. “I can get just as fired up about a plate of tater tots as I can my shirt getting caught on a doorknob in a hallway.”

Staying clean while making people laugh is a skill Stroup said he picked up while working as the opener for Christian comic John Crist for several years. He explained he learned how to “walk that line” between getting a laugh, and not “punching down.”

That aspect of his comedy led him to also work with one of comedy’s biggest names, Nate Bargatze, another clean comic who also happens to hail from the South.

DAVE CHAPPELLE SAYS HE’S CONSIDERING REVISITING ‘CHAPPELLE’S SHOW’ DECADES AFTER WALKING AWAY

“Me and Nate are naturally kind of similar people. We grew up 90 miles from each other,” Stroup explained.

It’s a connection he’s fostered, having gone on tour with Bargatze, being part of his Christmas special produced by “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels, and now starring in Bargatze’s upcoming film “The Breadwinner.” Stroup said Bargatze’s “right down the middle” style means everyone can enjoy a laugh.

Stroup’s special taps into the rage of Americans today, but over everyday occurrences — not bigger existential or divisive topics. Rather, he answers the burning question of whether the middle-seat person on planes deserves armrests, and recalls having to call the girl he liked on a landline and the panic surrounding what to do if her dad picked up.

SNL LEGEND EXPLAINS HOW SHORT ATTENTION SPANS ARE HAVING A DIRECT IMPACT ON COMEDY

“If somebody was really mad about something, like I was on a soap box all the time, or I was really trying to change your mind, that’s not a fun conversation,” Stroup said.

“When somebody’s unraveling over something that truly doesn’t matter, it’s pure entertainment,” he added.

Stroup’s special “Nostalgic” is now airing on Netflix. You can also catch him on the road this year on his “Running Hot Tour.”