Trump tricked with prank call aboard Air Force One

WASHINGTON: The president of the United States, one of the most protected people on the planet, would seem to be a long-shot target for a prank caller looking to have some fun.

But President Donald Trump, who likes to field his own telephone calls and prefers spontaneity to protocol, is a different breed. So on Wednesday, when a radio shock jock and comedian dialed the White House switchboard impersonating a senator’s aide, he found himself patched through to Trump on Air Force One.

The result was an impromptu six-minute conversation on immigration and the Supreme Court between the president and the radio host and comedian John Melendez, known to his listeners as “Stuttering John.”

“Are you ready for the call?” a White House mobile communications officer asked Melendez before connecting him with Trump. He was.

As far as Trump knew, he was taking a call from Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., who seemed to have an urgent legislative matter he wanted to raise.

“Congratulations on everything - we’re proud of you,” Trump said by way of a greeting, apparently alluding to the real Menendez’s recent acquittal on corruption charges and a subsequent decision by the Justice Department not to pursue additional ones. “You went through a tough, tough situation, and I don’t think a very fair situation.”

He was actually speaking with Melendez, who had called the White House switchboard, affected a British accent and identified himself as Sean Moore (”S-E-A-N, as in Sean Connery, and Moore, as in Roger Moore”), an aide to Menendez who, he claimed, badly needed to speak to Trump.

White House officials did not respond Friday to requests for comment on how the prankster had been allowed to get through to the president. But Melendez’s profanity-laced podcast indicates that the process was surprisingly easy.