Trump calls into C-SPAN and defends his defense secretary against impeachment
An unidentified woman's laughter is heard at the start of the roughly eight-minute call, which also covered immigration and the Iran war.
Trump made a surprise call to C-SPAN on Monday night, during the premiere of the network's new evening call-in show, Washington Journal Primetime. Host Mimi Geerges announced a call from the White House. The call lasted about eight minutes and covered immigration, the war with Iran and a push to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
An unidentified woman could be heard laughing at the start. Neither Trump nor Geerges mentioned it. Online users suggested she was Trump's aide Natalie Harp, but nobody has confirmed who it was.
Asked what he watches on C-SPAN, Trump said the call-ins give him an indication of where things stand. On immigration, he said his administration has not put the same push on workers such as waitresses and farm workers as on "the murderers or the drug dealers." Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth on Monday.
Trump said he would be "disappointed" in Republicans who back it and said "Pete has won two wars." Asked how long the Iran war will last, Trump said it depends, and that Iran would like a deal.
- about eight minuteslength of Trump's C-SPAN callNewsweek
- eight articles of impeachmentintroduced by Rep. Thomas Massie against HegsethNewsweek
Three sides of the story
8 news outlets reported this
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Liberal4 outlets
The mystery giggle and a post-election Trump rant
The Independent calls it a "wild call-in" and opens with the burst of laughter before covering Trump's answers on immigration, Iran and Hegseth. It describes the Iran war as "unpopular" and says Trump gave no clear timeline. It also reports that Harp has taken to screening his incoming calls.
The Daily Beast centers on the laughter, quoting posts from journalist Laura Rozen and commentator Brian Krassenstein, and says Harp also appears to be screening his calls. The New Republic's "Trump Freaks Out on Live TV" calls the call a rant, says Trump "incorrectly claimed" the government had not pressed working immigrants as hard, and writes that his "delusions" continued after the Democratic win. HuffPost's "S**t Must Be Bleak" leads with critics on X mocking a "desperate"
Trump. It adds that several of his own supporters had called C-SPAN to voice disappointment before the midterms.
- The Independent: Woman’s giggle, Iran and favorite TV show: Trump has wild call-in to C-SPAN’s newest show
- The Daily Beast: Mystery Woman Heard Giggling as Trump Calls into C-SPAN Sparks Natalie Harp Speculation
- The New Republic: Trump Freaks Out on Live TV in Bizarre Post-Election Wipeout Rant
- HuffPost: ‘S**t Must Be Bleak’: Critics Mock ‘Desperate’ Trump After He Calls In To C-SPAN
Center1 outlet
The call's topics, laughter and Hegseth impeachment vote
Newsweek opens with the unidentified woman laughing as Trump made what it calls a surprise call. It says the woman was not identified on air, Trump and Geerges did not address the laughter, and nothing on the recording suggests why she laughed or that anything inappropriate happened. It reports that Newsweek contacted the White House for comment.
Newsweek then walks through the call: Trump's remark about the call-ins, his answer on pressure on farm workers and waitresses, and his "disappointed" reply on Hegseth. It adds background on a House resolution Democrats introduced in April and on Massie's eight articles, which cite Iran, Venezuela, Yemen and the Caribbean, with a House vote expected by Wednesday. On Iran, it quotes Trump: "Iran would like to make a deal."
It also covers Trump's earlier briefing with UFC CEO Dana White, who said he did not want the press secretary job.
Conservative3 outlets
Trump's informal call-in and the Harp speculation
RedState says Trump "crashed C-SPAN's party" and, in its telling, was on the line "live and unscreened." It quotes his "I do okay in there" remark and his defense of Hegseth, notes that Massie lost his primary in May, and adds Trump's "Massie is a loser" line from the briefing room. It also reports his warning that another strike on Iran could be five times bigger.
It writes that "The Left, naturally, had a meltdown" over the call. The Daily Mail leads with the giggle and says critics pinned it on Harp, quoting accounts such as Republicans Against Trump. It reports that nobody has confirmed who laughed and that the White House has dismissed speculation about Harp.
The Daily Wire's "Reveals Why He Tunes In" stresses Trump's remark about gauging public opinion. It cites a video with nearly one million views on X and commenters praising the call, and describes Trump's "unusually informal approach" to media.
Which side made the stronger case?
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- Length of Venezuela operation, as Trump said on the C-SPAN call
- The Independent: 48 minutes
- The Daily Wire: 40 minutes
All sources: 12 articles from 8 outlets
Liberal (8)
- HuffPost: ‘S**t Must Be Bleak’: Critics Mock ‘Desperate’ Trump After He Calls In To C-SPAN
- The Daily Beast: White House Claims to Solve Mystery of Trump’s Giggler
- The Daily Beast: Jimmy Fallon Finds Proof Trump’s Giggling Caller Wasn’t Melania
- The Daily Beast: Mystery Woman Heard Giggling as Trump Calls into C-SPAN Sparks Natalie Harp Speculation
- The Daily Beast: Trump Rambles in Surprise Call to New C-SPAN Show
- The Independent: White House makes astonishing claim about ‘giggling’ on Trump’s C-Span call
- The Independent: Woman’s giggle, Iran and favorite TV show: Trump has wild call-in to C-SPAN’s newest show
- The New Republic: Trump Freaks Out on Live TV in Bizarre Post-Election Wipeout Rant
Center (1)
Conservative (3)
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