Hot Mic Catches Reporter Joking “Chicks” Manned the Doors at White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Yet another security incident involving Donald Trump took place, this time during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner held on April 25, 2026. According to NBC News, a 31-year-old man identified as Cole Allen, who was a paying guest at the Washington Hilton hotel where the event was being held, allegedly attempted to breach security and enter the area where Trump was present.

Allen was reportedly in possession of two firearms at the time, a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun and a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol, according to an FBI affidavit, per NBC News. While he reportedly fired the weapon, he was stopped in his tracks before reaching the ballroom.

What's most concerning about all of this is how Allen got so close to Trump. And it seems like a hot-mic moment that captured a conversation between Fox News reporters at the venue might offer an explanation.

The hot-mic moment in question was shared in a clip uploaded to Reddit by @Fauxmoi. It appears to capture an area of the hotel, not inside the ballroom, where guests were entering and making their way up an escalator.

One alleged Fox reporter, who the New York Post has identified as Jimmy Failla, can be heard telling another, “They have like two random chicks holding the front door open. Like guys, they’re not even trying anymore… they’re not even Secret Service people.”

He then goes on to suggest that the people holding the doors open might even be hotel staff, adding, “Even if it was the guys, it wouldn’t even make it better.” He continues to joke about the lax security, saying, “It’s like they might as well put a doorstop and a scarecrow,” which he says would signal, “don’t f--k with this guy.”

The alleged Fox reporter then turns around, notices the security guard or agent standing behind him (with the hot mic), looks at them, and turns away. While that conversation provides one point of view on the level of security at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, another came from Erin Thielman, an Air Force veteran who attended the event.

She described the security as “standard,” per NBC News, saying Secret Service agents are “doing the best they can, and that’s a hard situation.” She also noted she had her ticket checked twice and went through a bag check and a metal detector before entering the ballroom.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche also shared that there were “hundreds of federal agents between him [Allen] and the president of the United States,” suggesting Trump was heavily protected.

Still, Allen had reportedly gotten inside the building with two deadly weapons. And so, despite what Blanche and Thielman said, the hot mic moment has raised questions about whether the perimeter of the event was as secure as one would expect for an event with the president of the United States in attendance.

While many agree it wasn’t, others seem to think the incident may have been staged, with one person writing on Reddit, “Apparently there were lax security measures for this event in particular,” and noting how "convenient" it was for the gunman to “target him at this particular event.”