A pair of hosts on Montreal's ÉNERGIE radio station managed to prank former U.S. president Donald Trump Wednesday into convincing him he was on the phone with two high-profile supporters: Clint Eastwood and Georges St-Pierre.
Known for his pranks over the years, Sébastien Trudel said he's never pulled off a stunt quite like this one and was even surprised himself at how quickly he was able to reach Trump. He carried out the prank with co-host Jason Rockman and said American journalists were also on the phoney call.
"Hi Kevin, it's Donald Trump. How are you?" the ex-president says during the telephone call, parts of which were released by the radio station Wednesday. They plan to release the full exchange Thursday.
"It's not Kevin, it's Mr. Eastwood. Kevin passed me his phone," Rockman replied.
"It's an honour to talk to you again," Trump says.
Rockman's impersonation of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly actor goes on for several minutes during the conversation, during which the former president addresses his recent troubles with the law.
"I have to be the only guy ever to get indicted and my [polling numbers] are up 25 per cent," Trump said.
"That's never happened. Normally, it's, 'Ladies and gentlemen, I'll be resigning today.' You know, but it's fine. I've really learned to live with it…"
Rockman passes the phone to his co-host, who pretends to be St-Pierre, the Quebec-born mixed martial arts champ.
"Hello, Georges. How are you?" Trump says.
Trudel proposes a fight to help raise money for his presidential campaign for 2024.
"I don't know if you would be open to do a fundraiser but I would be there for you," Trudel proposes.
"Well, that's very good, Georges. We'll talk about that," he replies.
The charade ends after several minutes when Trudel comes clean.
"Just one last thing, Mr. President. Actually, you're on the radio now on ÉNERGIE," he says. "It was a prank call, Mr. President."
"It sounded a little hokey, but that's OK. I've had that before," Trump responded, before adding that the Montreal prank was "not the best."
The ex-president took it in stride and didn't appear to be too miffed by the gag.
"Have a good time, fellas. You just take care of yourselves."
HOW THEY PULLED IT OFF
The co-hosts say they were stunned at how fast they were able to reach the former president.
In an interview with Noovo Info, Trudel explained that after several attempts with people in Trump's inner circle on Monday, Rockman was able to speak to someone at the front desk of one of the golf clubs owned by Trump.
That individual likely contacted members of Trump's entourage, since Trump's former White House receptionist, Chamberlain Harris, called Rockman back to make further inquiries. After some exchanges, a call was planned for Wednesday.
"Usually, it takes between one and three months to pull off a stunt like this," Trudel said.
Editor's note: ÉNERGIE is owned by Bell Media Inc., the parent company of CTV News.
