Featured Image Credit: NBC News
Unbothered, unfazed, moisturized, and staying in her lane.
This was the no-nonsense response of one NBC News reporter after she inadvertently became meme of the month when caught in the (literal) crossfire of a shooting at the White House.
While this is an incredibly serious incident that resulted in Secret Service agents shooting dead 21-year-old Nasire Best, Julie Tsirkin has gone viral for her response to hearing gunshots ring out ahead of her report.
It was a normal day for Tsirkin, who was preparing for her segment. It's here that a commotion could be heard as she asked her cameraman, "What is that?” He replied saying, "It sounds like forworks," before she was then seen running to the press briefing room as an armed Secret Service agent stood guard outside. Best was seen pacing 17th St. Northwest in a strange manner at 6:10 p.m., resulting in a shootout with agents.
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Updating people online, Tsirkin confirmed the gunman approached a Secret Service checkpoint and pulled out a firearm. It's said that Best let off several shots before he was fatally wounded by agents.
A bystander was hit and is said to be taken away in a critical condition, although it's unclear whether the injury was sustained from the Secret Service or Best.
President Donald Trump was apparently in the building at the time, but was not 'impacted' by the incident.
Speaking to NBC News in the aftermath, Tsirkin explained: "I was outside of these doors on the North Lawn getting ready to tape something for your show, when myself and my cameraman, John, we heard what sounded like 20 to 30 shots.
"I ended up running after that happened. I saw a Secret Service agent come out of the security booth, guns drawn, telling the few of us who are out there to 'run inside the press briefing room'."
It wasn't just Tsirkin who was there, with senior ABC White House correspondent Selina Wang saying: "I was in the middle of taping on my iPhone for a social video from the White House North Lawn when we heard the shots."
Glad to see that NBC reporter Julie Tsirkin, who is now becoming meme-famous for her "What is that?" during the gunfire at the White House, has a sense of humor. https://t.co/fWjP9Dh27E pic.twitter.com/0yVQOovS6x
— Sarah Yáñez-Richards (@SarahYanezR) May 24, 2026
Court records show that this wasn't Best's first run-in with the White House, previously being arrested at a different checkpoint, claiming that he wanted to be apprehended and that he was Jesus Christ. CNN reports that Best had been involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital, while the 21-year-old was "known to the Secret Service" for "walking around the White House complex inquiring how to gain access at various entry points."
In June 2025, Best was committed for "obstructing vehicle entry" to part of the White House complex, followed by his Jesus claim just two weeks later.
Unlike the recent White House Correspondents Dinner shooting's Cole Tomas Allen, it's unclear what Best's motive was, although his social media reportedly included past threats of violence against the POTUS.
As for Tsirkin, she's seemingly making the most of her newfound fame as she's being called the perfect meme template. With her hilarious reaction being put into everything from videos of Gavin Newsom playing basketball to Rickroll videos, her unbothered "What is that?" is the gift that keeps on giving.
