Fox News hosts repeatedly thanked Donald Trump and laughed nervously as the president rambled through an Election Day phone interview—and took more than three minutes to finally get him off the line.
Trump, 80, called into Fox & Friends on Tuesday, veering from the war in Ukraine to Greenland, Iran and his own campaign rallies as hosts tried to wrap up the conversation.
He falsely claimed the U.S. had handed Ukraine $350 billion in cash and military equipment without asking for anything in return, before insisting he was now getting “100 percent on the dollar” for American aid.
He then veered into talking about Greenland, bizarrely declaring: “We just got Greenland, you know that, right?”
Host Brian Kilmeade tried to clarify that Trump was referring to the deal he struck with Denmark and Greenland, which will allow the U.S. to build two military bases in the region, while Ainsley Earhardt thanked the president for joining them and said they knew he would be watching midterm election results from the White House.
But Trump continued, boasting about his supposedly packed rallies.
“I am, and I think the results will be better than you think. We did the tour, I did a tour for 30 days and those stadiums were packed, we had people, they had a big effects, or will have a big effect on tonight, spirit and love of our country is tremendous,” he said, declaring the U.S. the “hottest country anywhere in the world” and warning that the country must not let “radical left lunatics take over.”
He then turned his attention to Earhardt’s husband, fellow Fox host Sean Hannity, praising him as a “professional talker” and revealing that he earns more than $100 million a year.
Trump joked that Hannity sometimes talks for so long that he has to invent an excuse to end their calls.
“I’m sorry, Sean, President Xi is on the phone,” he said, describing his supposed tactic for getting the broadcaster off the line.
The irony was apparently lost on the president, who had just spent several minutes doing precisely what he was describing: talking at length while the hosts tried to wrap up the interview.
The Fox presenters continued thanking him, with Lawrence Jones praising the president and Kilmeade offering another round of appreciation.
Trump finally signed off after more praise for the hosts, telling them: “Go have a good time, everybody, we have it under control.”
Earhardt then moved swiftly to introduce Hannity, who was waiting to come on air.
It is not the first time Trump has rambled incoherent nonsense.
Trump has repeatedly faced questions about his age, mental sharpness and ability to handle the demands of the presidency.
Critics have pointed to his meandering speeches, verbal mix-ups and sometimes incoherent answers as reasons for concern, while the White House has pushed back against suggestions that he is experiencing cognitive decline.
The president has repeatedly bragged about having taken three cognitive tests, which he claims he aced. But the detailed results have not been released.
The bizarre call came just hours before the midterms, with polls pointing to a potentially crushing Republican defeat.
The Democrats hold an advantage of around nine points in the generic congressional ballot, according to RealClearPolling.
Meanwhile, Republican candidates are trailing in several traditionally conservative states, including Texas, South Carolina, Ohio, Iowa and Kansas.
Democrats need to gain four seats in both the House and Senate to seize control of Congress. Polls suggest they are well placed to take the House, while prediction markets have put their chances of winning the Senate at roughly three in four.
