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Oz Pearlman Reveals Magic Trick Performed on Karoline Leavitt Before White House Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting
Hollywood Reporter ^ | Apr 26, 2026 | Carly Thomas

Posted on 04/26/2026 6:56:57 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege

Mentalist Oz Pearlman, who hosted the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Saturday night, is revealing the magic trick he performed on Karoline Leavitt moments before shots were fired.

Pearlman was seen speaking with the White House press secretary and First Lady Melania Trump, who was sitting next to President Donald Trump, and then showing them a mysterious piece of paper. Moments later, they all ducked to the ground behind the table on stage, before Trump and Melania were rushed out of the Washington Hilton ballroom.

ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl later caught up with the mentalist, who revealed what was written on the paper.

“Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary, said, ‘Challenged me. I’m having a baby next week.’ We were talking about it because we both have children, and she goes, ‘Can you guess what I’m naming my daughter?’ And so this was happening backstage,” he said. “We were interrupted because the president walked in. And so I said, ‘Let’s save it for when we get up on the dais.'”

Pearlman later went on stage to introduce himself to Trump and Melania, and that’s when he performed the magic trick on Leavitt, with the president and first lady also watching closely.

“I was coming to say hello to the president and to the first lady, and I was guessing letter by letter how many letters were in [Leavitt’s unborn child’s] name,” he recalled. “Then right at the moment where you see it happen, I wrote down the name and I said, ‘How did I do?’ And I turned around and that’s when you see the first lady go, ‘Oh! Is that the name?'”

However, before Leavitt could confirm if Pearlman was correct, a gunman stormed into the ballroom shooting...

(Excerpt) Read more at hollywoodreporter.com ...


TOPICS: Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: karolineleavitt; leavitt; magic; magician; ozpearlman; whcd
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To: gloryblaze; Tellurian

Oh, my. I see the mystery was solved quite a while ago.

Sorry!


41 posted on 04/27/2026 7:38:05 AM PDT by gloryblaze
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To: exinnj
With that many guards armed and weapons drawn, I wonder if there was a no shoot policy towards the actual room of people.

It does seem odd that the perp did not even catch one projectile.

Otherwise, perhaps he was tackled immedietely after the sprint past the "gate" and thus all held their fire.

Would need to see more actual security cam footage.

42 posted on 04/27/2026 7:48:59 AM PDT by going hot (Happiness is a momma deuce)
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To: going hot
Otherwise, perhaps he was tackled immedietely after the sprint past the "gate" and thus all held their fire.

A hotel hallway is not a safe place to open fire with firearms due to potential collateral damage on other agents or innocent civilians who may have been walking around,.

43 posted on 04/27/2026 11:25:28 AM PDT by Hot Tabasco
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To: Ex-Con777
Loved this comment:

"This guy is a magician. How did Dawson Knox catch that football? He always drops it…"

LOL!

44 posted on 04/27/2026 11:32:49 AM PDT by Hot Tabasco
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To: Texas_Jarhead
Pearlman is a very good scammer.

Well, to his credit, he supposedly readily admits it's all fake, just reading body language and other cues (never heard of the guy before this, just going by stories I read). So is he really a scammer? Uri Geller was a scammer - he pretended it was real.

45 posted on 04/27/2026 7:51:38 PM PDT by Some Fat Guy in L.A. (Still bitterly clinging to rational thought despite its unfashionability)
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To: Some Fat Guy in L.A.
The "mentalist" techniques he claims to use are just convincing sleight of hand & magic craft. There is plenty of info exposing his tactics, techniques and technology. He is very good at being quick on his feet. This long vid does a good job of deconstructing Oz's act.

Warren SMith also did a short vid on Oz's 60 minute segment on "mentalizing" Joe Rogan's ATM PIN code.
46 posted on 04/27/2026 9:31:49 PM PDT by Texas_Jarhead
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To: FoxInSocks

I only say he’s a scammer because he professes to be a mentalist and not a magician but in fact, he is a magician. A magician selling a book to teach people to use “mentalism” skills to improve their lives.


47 posted on 04/27/2026 9:48:24 PM PDT by Texas_Jarhead
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Kidding here, but: Karoline’s pregnancies might be bad mojo. Butler shooting happened just a couple days after she had her first child. Saturday’s event was to be her last day before maternity leave — baby due “any minute”, according to what she said.


48 posted on 04/28/2026 9:04:05 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam ( "Trouble knocked at the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried away". - B. Franklin)
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To: Texas_Jarhead
I just looked at the Wikipedia entry for mentalism. I think it does a good job of looking at some of the distinctions in related terminology, including a description of mentalism as a subcategory of magic, as you pointed out.
49 posted on 04/28/2026 11:00:04 AM PDT by FoxInSocks ("Hope is not a course of action." — M. O'Neal, USMC)
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To: Tellurian

“I wonder who the girl 2 seats away from Trump was. “

Weijia Jiang. She’s the journalist who was in charge of planning the event.


50 posted on 04/28/2026 11:21:11 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam ( "Trouble knocked at the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried away". - B. Franklin)
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To: Tellurian

She made a statement about the moment. She had covered her mouth because she was surprised about the trick, and the next second is when the chaos started re the shooter.


51 posted on 04/28/2026 11:23:36 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam ( "Trouble knocked at the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried away". - B. Franklin)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

He was the talent instead of a bad comedian


52 posted on 04/28/2026 11:33:43 AM PDT by Fledermaus ("It turns out all we really needed was a new President!")
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To: FoxInSocks

Oz flat out states, “I am not a magician”. That is a lie and a scam just like the 19th-20th century spiritualists.


53 posted on 04/28/2026 8:56:32 PM PDT by Texas_Jarhead
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