Across town, at the Washington institution Cafe Milano, the mood wasn’t dampened. Whoever controlled the music was playing the hits: “Toxic,” “Kiss Me,” “Oops!…I Did It Again,” and “Promiscuous” blasted over the speakers as diners drank espresso martinis and wolfed down bowls of lobster linguine. Patrons hovered over DC superlawyer Heather Podesta’s shoulder as she watched CNN’s breaking news coverage on her phone. Franco Nuschese, the restaurant’s beloved proprietor, held court at his corner table, checking in on dinner attendees who’d managed to escape the Hilton. ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl joined his table and fielded calls, reporting on the shooting over the din.
Once guests at the main event were allowed to leave the Hilton, some reporters sprinted to the White House, where Trump was delivering a press conference flanked by members of his cabinet. Everyone—both government officials and press—were still in black-tie garb. A tuxedoed Trump used the opportunity to renew his calls for a White House ballroom, the construction of which judges have repeatedly blocked. Other journalists rushed back to their newsrooms to cover the breaking story. In DuPont Circle near the Hilton, an otherwise quiet night was disrupted by the scream of sirens and purr of helicopters. People in evening wear trudged down the street, most with a phone to their ear.
The night carried a distinctly American blend of violence and gaiety. NBC News, MS Now, and TIME Magazine had lavish after-parties planned following the dinner, and after some anguished deliberations, all three decided that the shooting would not be the end of the evening. MS Now rebranded from a “party” to “a space for friends and colleagues to be together.” The beatboxer was canceled, but the DJ was not, nor was the tequila cart that shuttled up and down the long room. The staff manning the cart periodically struck the metal tops of the bottles of Clase Azul, a flourish that caused a few jumps among the more skittish attendees. At the TIME party, guests waited in long lines outside. They looked for the streamer Clavicular, who was rumored to be in attendance, though a TIME representative said he did not show up. The ambassadors and cabinet members that typically stock these events were absent with the exception of Congressman Maxwell Frost, who attended both the TIME and MS Now parties in sunglasses and a boxy tuxedo.
Substack, which hosted a party during the dinner, was locked down by security after letting in a few dozen guests. One White House reporter complained that “the ratio sucked,” as mostly men had arrived by the time an event official took to the microphone and said no one would be allowed in or out until it was deemed safe. The reporter peered outside and saw a group of mostly women being held by security. The only thing to do was to continue the party, the official said over the speakers. The music came back on, and the men danced somberly to wedding music.
“I thought a bomb was about to go off.”
