Chad Pergram’s Tumble at the Capitol
You can now listen to Fox News articles! Often people ask if I felt something on my foot or shin. I didn’t. Yet they asked repeatedly. “What was it like? Did you fall?” Clumsiness wasn’t the case for me.
Reporter Notebook Insight: Chad Pergram falls while questioning Justin Trudeau at the U.S. Capitol. (Fox News)
Like many, I fall sometimes. I exercise daily and had a couple of falls on early morning runs in Alexandria, Virginia. Sidewalk bumps can appear unexpectedly. I used to ski and studied martial arts, having a second-degree black belt. Clumsy doesn’t fit.
People ask what it was. I have suspicions. Fatigue that day perhaps. The lip on a small staircase near the Memorial Door of the U.S. Capitol which caught my brown loafer. I recall wearing shoes with rubber soles, slightly scuffed. They matched my tan summer suit, suitable for covering Congress during a hot July day.
Maybe it was the shoes, my tiredness, or my hurry to get the story. I saw then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau descending with aides and security after meeting with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. I intended to ask Trudeau a question.
No, this incident wasn’t related to Trudeau or remembering a picture of a young Trudeau at Olympic Stadium cheering for the Expos with his father, Pierre Trudeau. The Expos relocated in 2005, becoming the Washington Nationals. This was prior to tariff discussions. Montreal lost Major League Baseball.
What would Youppi! think? Look him up, kids. No, I didn’t feel anything across my shin or ankle. I was on those steps as a baseball fan to inquire about reports of the Tampa Bay Rays potentially splitting their season between Florida and Montreal. Trudeau’s comment would make international news.
Journalism occasionally doesn’t go as planned. Sometimes questions aren’t asked. That happened that day. Questions about the Rays and Montreal were silenced by whatever got me. I approached Trudeau, mentioned Tampa Bay, and fell on the steps, in front of him.
Realizing I was falling, with a mic in hand, I couldn’t catch myself. My martial arts training taught me how to fall safely. I rolled onto my shoulder as Trudeau continued.
“What tripped you?” People asked if I was all right. Physically, I was. Mentally, somewhat confused. I’ve worked at the Capitol for years. I suspected what or who might have caused it.
In the 19th Century, Rep. William Taulbee, D-Ky., and reporter Charles Kincaid had a tumultuous relationship. Taulbee, taller and sometimes physical, faced Kincaid’s gunshot in the Capitol in 1890. Taulbee’s blood stained the steps. The stains are visible today.
Some believe Taulbee’s ghost lurks at the Capitol, occasionally hindering reporters. “What tripped you? Was it a ghost?” people eagerly ask, giddy with speculation.
These are my theories, but I invite you to draw your conclusions. I aim not to trip you up.
Chad Pergram is Fox News Channel’s Chief Congressional Correspondent and joined the network in September 2007, based in Washington, D.C.