News reporter has a hilariously awkward reaction after tasting Polish-style hot dog at state fair

Field news reporters possibly have one of the most difficult jobs. Whether it is about braving war zones, horrible weather conditions or sharing snippets of mega events, they are always on-site to collect the best pieces of news for us. These reporters are also the ones who fall victim to peculiar situations where they have to be very professional during live broadcasts, even when they don't want to gulp down facts, or in WIS-TV reporter Jalen Tart's case, a Polish-style hot dog.

This news reporter from South Carolina has been doing rounds on the internet after a video of him taking a big chunk of a 'Polish dog' at a state fair and struggling to swallow it down went viral. It didn't seem to be an ordinary hot dog as the reporter tried his level best to conceal his disappointment and true reaction after taking a huge bite of it at the Columbia State Fair. The clip, since then, has been circulated on various social media sites and it hasn't failed to tickle the funny bones of everyone who has watched it. 

In the video shared by the news channel, Tart can be seen sharing scenes from the state fair comprising many food stalls. He then grabs a hot dog from a stand and the man who prepared it stands by his side to get Tart's reaction to the fast food delicacy. "I am going to take a bite of this Polish dog and see what this is all about," Tart begins. But as the reporter takes the first bite (which was quite big, tbh), he hardly makes an effort to chew and swallow it. Tart shakes his head and then quickly nods while looking at the camera as he continues chewing. "Pretty good, pretty pretty good," he said unconvincingly. Social media users instinctively knew it was a big "no" from the reporter.

Tart seemingly tries to store the food in his cheek while continuing his reporting duty, perhaps to spit it out later as he directs the segment back to the anchors in the newsroom. Back in the studio, fellow anchor Judi Gaston looks baffled as she tries to hide her laughter over her colleague's possibly bad experience at the state fair. "Jalen's having a great time at the fair and you can head out there," Gaston finally cracks up while talking to the camera.

As screenshots and clipped footage of the incident started making rounds online, netizens jumped in to share their hilarious remarks as well. @JusticeforSuav on Twitter wrote: "Bro was really suffering and had to push through with his tiptoes." @lnglgzz joked about Gaston's reaction and commented: "At that very moment, she knew that hotdog was trash." @djordxc added: "Example #16363 that Black Telepathy is real because Auntie knew!"

Tart also shared his comedic clip on his Instagram account and remarked how it had been featured heavily online such as in the podcast "Nightcap" by former professional football players Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson. "It's crazy how this clip is making its rounds so fast but I’m glad y'all all enjoying it, I got more foods to try and other things coming. Thank you, Shannon and Ocho for talking about it on the show. Stay tuned for what’s to come next," he captioned the post.

Talking to TODAY.com, Tart explained what actually happened in those moments and was the hot dog really that bad. "I’m still shocked...I wasn’t trying to go viral. I was just hungry and I just wanted a bite to eat and that’s just what happened. I was like, ‘OK, this is actually not bad,’ but then I thought, ‘I still got to swallow this thing down,’ and I just couldn’t get it. It wasn’t nasty, it was just the fact that it was a lot of food and I was just trying to get it down to give my reaction. I was just in the moment and I didn’t know what else to say to the anchors.” When asked if he would try that Polish-style hot dog again, the anchor simply said, "No." It seems his appetite for hot dogs has gone for some time now. 

This article originally appeared on 10.20.23.