Chris Cuomo Tries, Fails in Attempt to Debunk Trump Impeachment Defense By Calling His Mom on Air

Charlie NashNov 21st, 2019, 12:51 pm
 

CNN host Chris Cuomo tried to debunk President Donald Trump’s claim that he wouldn’t be able to hear someone else’s phone call unless it was on speakerphone, by calling his mother on a live CNN panel. The experiment failed.

David Holmes, counselor for political affairs at the U.S. embassy in Ukraine, testified during his impeachment hearing on Thursday that he overheard a phone call between Trump and Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland in which the president asked about investigations. Holmes told the House that Trump’s call with Sondland was so loud, the ambassador “winced.”

In response, the president claimed on Twitter that he had never “been able to hear or understand a conversation” from someone else’s call “which was not on speakerphone.”

“I’ve even tried, but to no avail,” President Trump claimed, before encouraging skeptics to, “Try it live!”

In response, Cuomo decided to try it out himself, on a live CNN panel.

“Very interesting theory from our president that he has really good hearing, some would say the best hearing ever, and he’s never been able to hear a phone call when it wasn’t on speaker phone from anybody. So, let’s just play with that for a second,” declared Cuomo.

Calling his mother on his cell phone, Cuomo called out, “Mom, can you hear me?” but there was only silence on the other end as the panel tried to hear without the use of speaker phone.

“I’m with Dana Bash, you know how you’re always telling me to let her talk because she’s so smart and I shouldn’t say so much. Can you just say hello?” asked Cuomo, as more silence ensued. “Mom? She probably can’t hear me. Mom, can you hear me?”

Finally turning the speakerphone on, Cuomo’s mother could be heard replying, “Yes, I hear you. When you talk to me, I hear you.”

With Cuomo again turning the speaker phone off, Bash called out, “Hi, Mrs. Cuomo. How are you?” but seemingly could not hear what Cuomo’s mother replied, despite being sat right next to the phone.

“I can’t hear your mother, Chris,” replied CNN commentator and former Trump adviser David Urban. “I’m sitting across the table.”

“This is not on speaker phone, it’s regular phone. It’s two feet away from Dana. She can hear my mother,” insisted Cuomo. “I’m not sure mom can hear us. Mom, thank you very much. Thank you for not saying anything that will get me in trouble. I’ll call you back. I love you.”

With the experiment over, the panel then started to argue whether the call between President Trump and Sondland could have been accidentally turned on to speaker phone.

Cuomo’s experiment was mocked on social media, with some critics comparing it to O.J. Simpson being made to try on the infamous gloves.

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