President Donald Trump’s phone habits and the security risks they pose are back in the news again. This time, Trump appears to have fallen victim to a prank phone call from comedian and podcast host “Stuttering John,” who duped the president into believing he was Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ).
John Melendez, a former Howard Stern Show personality better known as “Stuttering John,” claims to have spoken with Trump after calling the White House and claiming to be the New Jersey Democrat. He released audio of his conversation with Trump, during which the president congratulated him on the Justice Department’s dismissal of corruption charges against him, discussed immigration and his next Supreme Court pick, and bragged about a North Dakota rally.
Melendez told CNN it took him about an hour and a half to get Trump and the president’s son-in-law-cum-adviser, Jared Kushner, on the phone. “I am shocked,” Melendez said. “I mean, we did this as a goof, I’m a comedian.”
The White House hasn’t denied the authenticity of the audio.
The incident renews concerns about the security apparatus surrounding Trump and how seriously he and his advisers take it. By speaking on open phone lines and disregarding other security protocols, the White House risks foreign governments and ill-intentioned actors eavesdropping on Trump’s discussions about running the country, experts say.
Politico in May reported that Trump has bucked cellphone security protocols because he thinks they’re “too inconvenient.” And Chief of Staff John Kelly’s phone was hacked, potentially compromising information from Homeland Security and within the West Wing. A British self-described “email prankster” has also tricked White House officials into thinking he was other officials and publicized their exchanges.
How John Melendez became Bob Menendez to Trump
Melendez told CNN that his team first called the White House and was honest about who they were, but the person who answered the phone said the president was busy and hung up. So they tried again as “Shawn Moore,” a fake assistant to Menendez with an English accent. The White House said they would call him back, and they did, on a cell phone, while Trump was flying back from a rally in Fargo, North Dakota on Wednesday on Air Force One.