A voice sounding very much like that of President Donald Trump is heard in phone call a comedian claims to have made to the commander-in-chief while he was aboard Air Force One. Photo / AP
A voice sounding very much like that of President Donald Trump is heard in phone call a comedian claims to have made to the commander-in-chief while he was aboard Air Force One. Photo / AP
President Donald Trump spoke with a comedian about his controversial immigration policy and his pick for Supreme Court Justice while aboard Air Force One on Wednesday.
The alleged communication raises questions about the soundness in regard to the security clearances process, and how a prankster could get through to Air Force One and have a direct audience with the president.
John Melendez, who is also known as Stuttering John and frequently appeared on The Howard Stern Show, says he was able to reach the president by claiming he was New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, reports Daily Mail.
He was also able to speak to a number of other people in the administration as his call was passed along, including President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
"Hi Bob. How are you, congratulations on everything, we're proud of you. Congratulations, you're doing a great job," says President Trump at the start of the call.
He then made reference to Menendez's past indictment on corruption charges, which resulted in a hung jury last year before a federal judge cleared him earlier this year at the request of prosecutors.
"You went through a tough, tough situation - and I don't think a very fair situation - but congratulations," President Trump said in audio first played during Melendez's Stuttering John podcast on Thursday.
Melendez then asked what he could tell his constituents in regards to the topic of immigration moving forward.
Comedian John Melendez claims he was able to get a hold of President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One via a phony phone call. Photo / Getty Images
"So Bob, let me just tell you: I want to be able to take care of the situation every bit as much as anyone else, at the top level," replied President Trump.
"I'd like to do the larger solution rather than the smaller solution; they're doing them step by step. I think we can do the whole thing."
He continued: "I have a good relationship with the party, you have a good relationship with the party, and I think we could do a real immigration bill. We have to have security at the border, we have to have it. I mean, look, you've got 60 percent of the country, they've got to have security at the border.
"And that's a good excuse for the Democrats too, Bob. It's not like, it's good for you or good for me, it's good for both of us ... I'm tired of the problem. So Bob, here's what - let me do this, I'm on Air Force One, uh, I'm just coming back from an amazing rally in North Dakota, actually."
Melendez next asked about the vacancy on the Supreme Court following the news that Justice Kennedy was retiring from the bench.
"I have a list of people, I have a big list of people Bob, and we'll take a look and it and we're gonna make a decision, I'll probably make it over the next couple of weeks," said President Trump.
Melendez advised President Trump not to select a candidate who's too conservative, to which he replied: "Yeah."
He continued: "Well, we will talk to you about it - we're probably going to make a decision Bob, over the next two weeks, I think we're gonna have a really good ... we have some great choices. [It'll] be done over the next 12-14 days."
"You take care, I will speak to you soon Bob, take care of yourself. Thank you Bob, I will talk to you soon," the voice purported to be President Trump said.
The comic claimed he was New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez on the audio recording. Photo / Getty Images
The alleged communication puts into question how tight White House security is, marking what could be the biggest breach since Michaele and Tareq Salahi made headlines crashing a White House state dinner in November of 2009.
Melendez had a past relationship with Trump dating back more than 25 years stemming from his time on The Howard Stern Show, a program Trump frequently appeared on as a guest.
He initially called the White House switchboard while recording his podcast Wednesday and identified himself, but was unable to get through.
Melendez said he subsequently called the switchboard back, affecting an accent and claiming to be the senator's assistant.
The operator believed him and transferred him to a subordinate who told him that the president was unavailable because he was giving a speech at the time.
Melendez said he gave him his cell phone number, which had a Southern California prefix. When a White House operator noted how the information he provided did not match up with the information the White House had for the senator, Melendez explained it by saying that he was on vacation.
Melendez said he was then contacted by a series of presidential subordinates - including Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner - before the 45th president picked up the phone.
