Fox News host Jimmy Failla was caught joking about the lack of security at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on the livestream, shortly before the shooting occurred.

Bloomberg / Bloomberg via Getty Images

This weekend, the president attended the dinner for the first time in either of his terms. A suspected shooter is accused of running through the security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton hotel. Officials reportedly believe the suspect fired one or two times outside the ballroom. As per the New York Times, suspect Cole Tomas Allen faces two counts related to federal gun crimes, and one for allegedly attempting to assassinate Trump.

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Failla, who previously reported on the 2024 dinner for Fox News, manned the network’s livestream again this year. At one point during the red carpet event, he can be heard speculating whether JD Vance had just arrived.

Fox / Via youtube.com

After a pause, he said, “I love that they have, like, two random chicks holding the front door open… They’re not even trying anymore.”

Fox / Via youtube.com

“They’re not even Secret Service people. It’s like the girls who work here are holding the door. Even if it was the guys, it wouldn’t even make it better,” he continued. “They might as well put a door stop in…and a scarecrow, like, ‘Don’t fuck with this guy.'”

Fox / Via youtube.com

On a Fox News podcast, Failla later remarked, “There was not great security at the hotel.” Then, earlier today, Failla further joked about the “lax” security when sharing his interview with CNN’s Brian Stelter.

Jimmy Failla / Fox / Via x.com

Evidently, airtight event planning.

President Donald Trump suggested he may have intentionally slowed down U.S. Secret Service agents, causing Vice President JD Vance to be evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner noticeably faster than the commander-in-chief following a nearby shooting.

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“I wanted to see what was happening,” Trump explained during a high-profile interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday. “And I wasn’t making it that easy for them. I wanted to see what was going on. And by that time, we started to realize maybe it was a bad problem,” he noted regarding the security breach.

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Trump commented on the frantic ballroom scene shortly after CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell pointed out that it took security details roughly 20 seconds longer to usher him offstage compared to his VP. “What was happening?” O’Donnell questioned. “Well, what happened is it was a little bit me,” Trump admitted.

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Footage from the event depicts the audible sounds of gunfire echoing from outside the main ballroom while the president and first lady Melania Trump, alongside others at the head table, observed a performance by mentalist Oz Pearlman. Moments later, several agents emerged from the wings before accelerating their pace to surround the Trumps.

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Security personnel then assisted Trump from his chair before escorting him offstage behind a protective curtain. Vance had been rushed out about 20 seconds prior after agents grabbed him by his suit jacket while he was still seated and hurried him away from the dais. Trump told O’Donnell he felt “surrounded by great people” but claimed he forced the agents to “act a little bit more slowly.”

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“I said, ‘Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Let me see. Wait a minute,’” Trump recalled. The president further noted that as they exited, agents instructed him to “please go down on the floor.” He and the first lady took cover on the ground, he said, before rising shortly after to be led by the protective detail to a secure holding room.

President Trump said he “wasn’t making it that easy” for the Secret Service as it responded when shots rang out at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, because he wanted to see what was going on. @NorahODonnell‘s interview with the President, tonight on 60 Minutes. pic.twitter.com/Us7RqmMqg2

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) April 26, 2026

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As the current administration faces intense scrutiny regarding the reported lower level of security at the dinner compared to other presidential appearances, White House officials are scheduled to review security protocols this week for upcoming major events involving the president.

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday tried to blame what she called a “left-wing cult of hatred” against President Donald Trump for political violence in the nation, including the shooting at Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

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But one of her complaints caught the eyes and ears of critics. “Those who constantly falsely label and slander the president as a fascist, as a threat to democracy, and compare him to Hitler to score political points are fueling this kind of violence,” she declared.

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As many were quick to point out, one of the most prominent examples of someone comparing Trump to Hitler is already in the White House: Vice President JD Vance. In 2016, when Trump was running for president for the first time, Vance told a friend via private message that he wasn’t sure if Trump was “a cynical asshole like Nixon” or if he could be “America’s Hitler.”

Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images

Vance has since said he was wrong about Trump. But many are reminding Leavitt of what he said in the past:

In 2016, JD Vance suggested that Trump could be “America’s Hitler” https://t.co/gLmhUE4aDe pic.twitter.com/tRANtT2hYq

— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) April 27, 2026

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https://t.co/aGNbxrAXTY pic.twitter.com/Ej6ftvLfYW

— aly кішка! ✙ (@mexic0la_) April 27, 2026

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https://t.co/yfsx5c0bTX pic.twitter.com/lwkyD9kQAq

— Turnbull (@cturnbull1968) April 27, 2026

@cturnbull1968 / Via x.com

His current VP is on record calling him America’s hitler in the past https://t.co/aHa0JUeah7

— Jason Bell 🇺🇸🦅 (@JBellSATX) April 27, 2026

@JBellSATX / Via x.com

Hmph. JD Vance compared Trump to Hitler https://t.co/z8DUkZLmjY pic.twitter.com/leTi8kQmWQ

— Fly Sistah 🪷 (@Fly_Sistah) April 27, 2026

@Fly_Sistah / Via x.com

so trump can call dems radicals and enemies of america and demonic and markists and say we hate god and america and his supporters can call for dems to be killed but mean old dems are the problem https://t.co/FVJkMD7dak

— Chris Roberts (@Robbins17Chris) April 27, 2026

@Robbins17Chris / Via x.com

He compares democrats to literal demons. Why is that okay? https://t.co/w1JjThnijX

— DancinInTheDownPour (@melknepp) April 27, 2026

@melknepp / Via x.com

Maybe he should stop acting like Hitler if he doesn’t like the comparisons. https://t.co/bwu6sxwJAn

— Jamarrius (@YungxJayy) April 27, 2026

@YungxJayy / Via x.com