A phone interview between former President Donald Trump and the right-wing channel Real America’s Voice didn’t go exactly as planned. The call, which has been described as “choppy” and “strange-sounding,” caused quite a stir on social media. People began to suspect that just maybe the news outlet had spoken to an AI voice impersonator.
But John Solomon, a former Fox News contributor who interviewed Trump alongside TV host, Amanda Head, maintained that the interview was real. Solomon had posted the interview on his X/Twitter account, drawing comments from listeners who weren’t convinced about the authenticity of the call.
“Haha, you had a discussion with an AI,” one comment read. “Man, I wish that was really Trump because they brought up some great topics and asked some questions I would’ve loved to hear his answer to,” another listener said.
Suspicions surrounding the phone interview weren’t unjustified. Besides the poor audio quality of the recording, the former President kept cutting in and out. Mr. Solomon got to work immediately, countering the claims and insisting that he had an interview with the real Donald Trump. “It’s not AI, it was President Trump,” he told left-leaning news outlet, the Daily Beast.
Mr. Solomon went on to explain why the phone interview couldn’t have been faked. He described how he had planned the interview with Trump’s aides and disclosed the issues that would be discussed. “You can call the staff and check with them yourself. It was definitely President Trump without any doubt,” he declared.
The story wasn’t any different on the X/Twitter account of Real America’s Voice. After posting a 20-second clip of the interview, the news outlet was greeted with scores of skeptical comments.
Some of the comments read, “Trump doesn’t drink so why did he sound under the influence?” “Why are Republicans so goddamn gullible?,” and “Tbh this isn’t even a good Trump impersonator lol.”
Everyday social media users weren’t the only ones who doubted the phone conversation. Some leading media personalities weren’t convinced either. Broadcaster Keith Olbermann wrote the following on his X account, “LOL/BREAKING: ‘Real America’s Voice’ fooled by ‘Trump Impersonator’s Voice’”
On their part, the Real America’s Voice has debunked the insinuations. In a statement that was mailed to The Independent by their spokesperson, the organization maintained the genuineness of the interview.
Speculations about the authenticity quieted down after the former president posted a tidbit of the interview on his X page.
There was another funny twist to the story. The Daily Beast, in their initial report on the veracity of the phone interview, had included a quote from someone who claimed to be Robert Sigg, owner of Real America’s Voice. It turned out to be an imposter.
The Daily Beast has since corrected their error. In a statement attached to their initial report on the Real America’s Voice phone call with Trump, they admitted to speaking with someone who wasn’t Robert Sigg. A part of it read “A Daily Beast reporter had a conversation by text with a person who identified themselves as Sigg, on a number public records show was once associated with Sigg—but a spokesperson for Real America’s Voice said that it was not Sigg and is not his current number.”
