The White House told Inside Edition that laughter at the start of President Donald Trump’s Monday call to C-SPAN came from audio associated with an earlier caller.
C-SPAN host Mimi Geerges introduced the segment by saying the call appeared to come from the White House. Laughter came through as the line opened, then a click preceded Trump’s voice. During the roughly eight-minute exchange, he greeted Geerges and praised her work without mentioning the sound.
The Independent reported that the White House supplied its explanation after the sound drew online attention. It cited speculation that Trump aide Natalie Harp was laughing, including a post by foreign policy journalist Laura Rozen. The Independent did not identify the person the White House described as a previous caller.
Trump turned to the scheduling dispute in an early Tuesday Truth Social post, disputing The New York Times’ report that the call had not been announced in advance. He said White House Communications arranged the call beforehand at C-SPAN’s request.
