Awkward: Bill de Blasio Speaks to Iowa Union via Video Conference, and the Audio Sounds Like He Ingested Helium

Democrat Bill de Blasio’s presidential campaign continues to go nowhere fast, but the New York City mayor unknowingly provided some comic relief for many of us earlier today while speaking to the Iowa Federation of Labor via video conference.

Fox News reports:

The 2020 hopeful sent a video message because he couldn’t make it to a labor forum held by the AFL-CIO’s Iowa Federation of Labor. When it played, the audio sounded abnormally high-pitched, prompting Washington Post reporter Matt Viser to crack that the mayor “sounded like he’d gulped a canister of helium.”

Whoever was operating the video equipment appeared to try and fix the audio as viewers could see a mouse pointer moving across the screen and a box popping up over de Blasio’s face.

It’s unclear what caused the apparent malfunction but the 2020 hopeful’s high-pitched voice prompted audible laughter from the audience.

De Blasio’s campaign was not happy to be asked about the technical snafu:

Campaign spokesman Olivia Lapeyrolerie blamed a “technical glitch” when reached by Fox News, writing in an email: “It was obviously a technical glitch. I cannot believe you a [sic] writing a story on this.”

Watch:

Some of the journalists covering the forum tweeted the video at different angles, which added to the hilarity of the moment:

Well… this is unfortunate for @NYCMayor – his flight to Iowa got cancelled and his video call to Iowa labor event sounds… like this. pic.twitter.com/BGhES1IBi7

— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) August 21, 2019

“So that was a little bit different,” the announcer says at the conclusion of Bill DeBlasio’s remarks, in which, due to some apparent audio difficulties, he sounded like he’d gulped a canister of helium. pic.twitter.com/WbZAcRCGfo

— Matt Viser (@mviser) August 21, 2019

De Blasio later tweeted about the technical issues, seeming to take it in stride by comparing his voice to Alvin and the Chipmunks:

A canceled flight can’t stop me from sharing my vision for putting unions and working people first (or apparently from auditioning for Alvin and the Chipmunks).

To @IowaAFLCIO: Stay tuned for a less-glitchy video featuring my actual (and less entertaining) voice. https://t.co/gTlYgVq6D6

— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) August 21, 2019

The AFL-CIO did replay de Blasio’s speech later in the day, minus the high-pitched voice.

To date, Mayor de Blasio has yet to qualify for the next round of Democratic debates, which are scheduled to take place September 12th and 13th in Houston.

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— Based in North Carolina, Sister Toldjah is a former liberal and a 15+ year veteran of blogging with an emphasis on media bias, social issues, and the culture wars. Read her Red State archives here. Connect with her on Twitter. –

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