The president of the United States, one of the most protected people on the planet and among the least accessible to the public, would seem to be a long-shot target for a prank caller looking to have some fun.
.. 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.”
.. As far as Mr. Trump knew, he was taking a call from Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, who seemed to have an urgent legislative matter he wanted to raise.
.. “Congratulations on everything — we’re proud of you,” Mr. Trump said by way of a greeting, apparently alluding to the real Mr. Menendez’s recent acquittal on corruption charges
.. “You went through a tough, tough situation, and I don’t think a very fair situation.”
.. 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 Mr. Menendez who, he claimed, badly needed to speak to Mr. Trump.
.. she would contact Mr. Trump’s assistant, but then decided to try to transmit the call “through signal,” a reference to the White House Communications Agency, originally known as the White House Signal Corps, which provides emergency mobile communications for the president wherever he goes.
.. When he was a private citizen, Mr. Trump frequently called in to the shock jock Howard Stern’s bawdy radio program — the same one that made Stuttering John, Mr. Stern’s sidekick on the show for more than 15 years, famous
.. he received a call from Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, arranging a callback time for him and the president and asking what topic he would like to raise with Mr. Trump.
.. a discussion about what he should say to his constituents in New Jersey about the Trump administration’s immigration policies that have led to migrant families being separated at the southwestern border.
.. “Tune into my new Podcast where I prank call the President & he calls me from Air Force One!” Mr. Melendez wrote. A short time later he tweeted out the audio. Neither tweet got much traction at first, which frustrated Mr. Melendez.