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The White House claimed that a woman’s laughter heard at the start of President Donald Trump’s phone call to C-SPAN was “leftover audio from a previous caller who had not yet disconnected.”
The statement was provided to Inside Edition following online speculation about the brief audio glitch during Trump’s eight-minute interview Monday night.
The exchange began around 9 p.m. when host Mimi Geerges introduced the segment by saying, “Looks like we got a call from the White House.” »
As the line connected, an unidentified woman could be heard laughing before a click sounded and Trump began speaking.
“Thank you, Mimi, and good luck with the show,” Trump said, not referring to the laughter. “I’ve watched you a few times and you do a great job. But good luck with the show.”
Geerges also did not address audio during the call, during which she struggled to keep the president on topic.
Social media users quickly began guessing who the voice belonged to, with several observers pointing to the president’s personal assistant.
“Stephen Miller first day as chief of staff,” foreign policy reporter Laura Rozen posted online. “Natalie Harp audibly laughs as Trump calls into C-SPAN.”
Late night comedians also made fun of the mysterious audio.
“Based on the joyous laughter, experts are 100 percent sure it wasn’t Melania,” Jimmy Fallon joked on his show. “Trump told me, ‘Don’t worry, she’s my assistant Natalie, and definitely not my new Chinese spy girlfriend.'”
Rather than address the mysterious voice, Trump focused on media coverage surrounding the logistics of the appearance. After The New York Times reported that his call to the network was unannounced, the president pushed back in a message on Truth Social around 1 a.m.
“The New York Times erroneously reported that ‘Mr. Trump called the premiere of a C-Span show, APPARENTLY WITHOUT NOTICE.’ This is FALSE,” Trump wrote. “This was a completely scheduled call in favor of C-Span, arranged through White House communications. This was done at C-Span’s request, not mine. The Times knew it, but lied to demean it. But that’s the least of their lies!”
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
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