Mentalist and White House Correspondents’ Dinner host Oz Pearlman gave a firsthand account of what he saw during an attack on the event, telling CNN’s Dana Bash he first thought the chaos was caused by someone having a “medical emergency” before realizing the situation was much more serious.

Calling the experience “incredibly surreal” during Sunday’s episode of “State of the Union,” Pearlman recalled being at a “pivotal moment” of a trick trying to guess White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s baby’s name for her, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump when he heard a commotion.

“It wasn’t gunshots. I wasn’t sure if it was a tray,” he explained. “We’re also higher than everyone, so we have a very good vantage point versus the thousands of people in the room.”

Pearlman on face-to-face moment with President Trump on ballroom floor: "They bring the president down directly in front of me. And we just look at each other for about two seconds." pic.twitter.com/G3VJF2O7Hj

“I see everyone swarming one table. And I’m looking and trying to understand, and then you see people getting down ...,” Pearlman went on. “I didn’t hear any shots or see what looked like a shooter. I thought there was about to be a bomb.”

The performer added, “Like I really very much thought, ‘Oh my God, it’s about to explode,’ because of the way that it was being approached wasn’t like guns out. It was like to stop someone.”

Pearlman said he dropped to the ground to hide under a table where Trump was “less than a foot away from him.” The duo made eye contact as he remembered thinking, “Oh no, are we about to die?”

The suspected shooter was apprehended by law enforcement after firing off several shots outside of the ballroom where the event was taking place at the Washington Hilton.

White House officials say they have obtained writings from the suspect, who is reportedly a 31-year-old man from California, in which he “clearly stated he wanted to target administration officials.”

By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.