Two Russian pranksters fooled Rep. Maxine Waters into believing she was speaking with Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov impersonated Thunberg and her father Svante in a recent 10-minute phone call, during which the California Democrat repeatedly asked if President Trump made her cry.
“I’m so glad you came to my state, and, of course, I know all about you,” said Waters. “You have made quite a big, big, big thunder on this issue. I’m really, really proud of you and the work you are doing.”
The pranksters told Waters that they were at a rally in North Carolina protesting the effects of climate change on the fictional island of “Chon-Go-Chango” and asked Waters to address the crowd by speakerphone.
“Hello, everybody! This is Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and I am so pleased to be on this telephone call with Greta Thunberg,” said Waters. “She has been the greatest advocate for what is happening with our climate and the environment, and I’m very pleased that she’s with you in North Carolina, where you’re focusing on protecting the very important island of Choola Changa.” Waters then told the imaginary crowd that Thunberg “should win the Nobel Peace prize for what she is doing.”
The conversation then turned to Trump, whom the fake Thunberg accused of bullying her to the point of tears.
“I’m terrified of what Trump’s doing. And I even can’t sleep or eat when I see him on TV. It was a really terrible meeting in the U.N. building in September with him, and I had nightmares aftewards,” the prankster said. “I saw him in the hallway, he was with security, I shouted at him, ‘Sign the Paris climate agreement!’ at him again. He came over, he leaned toward me and said softly, ‘Listen to me careful, little girl, you will never achieve your goal.'”
“He said you will never achieve your goal?” Waters exclaimed. “Did he make you cry?”
“Yes, I was crying, and even I cry now because it’s very hard to remember this,” the impersonator replied.
The pranksters previously fooled Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff into believing he was speaking with a Ukrainian politician who offered him dirt on the president.
