US President Donald Trump was fooled by a comedian into taking a prank call while on board Air Force One.
Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One. Photo: AFP
Comedian John Melendez posed as Senator Bob Menendez. He says he spoke to the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner and received a call back from Mr Trump.
Mr Melendez said he claimed to be Senator Menendez and a fake assistant.
"Sometimes the [President's] channels are open too widely and mistakes like this happen," a White House official told CNN.
Senator Menendez is a Democratic senator from New Jersey and a long-time campaigner for immigration reform.
The US government has come under fire in recent weeks over its policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the border with Mexico.
Mr Melendez, who goes by the stage name Stuttering John, recorded his conversations with the US president and uploaded on his podcast.
On the recording, the voice that is purportedly Mr Trump congratulates Mr Menendez for his 2017 acquittal in a bribery case.
He was accused of accepting gifts from a Florida eye doctor in exchange for political influence.
The two voices on Mr Melendez's podcast recording also talked about the Supreme Court vacancy following Anthony Kennedy's decision to step down next month.
The voice said to be Mr Trump says he will nominate a new judge to the Supreme Court in "10 to 14 days".
When the White House made inquiries with Mr Menendez's office about the conversation Mr Trump thought he had with him on Thursday, the senator's staff were befuddled, US media report.
The prank caller said that his plan could have easily gone wrong.
"All they had to ask me is what party affiliation is Senator Menendez, or what state is he a senator of, and I would not have known. But they didn't ask me any of this," Mr Melendez told CNN.
- BBC
