I’m starting to feel a bit sorry for Mayor Bill de Blasio. Today, de Blasio’s flight to Iowa was canceled so he couldn’t appear in person at an AFL-CIO conference he was scheduled to attend. But, not wanting to miss out on a chance to bore another audience, the mayor decided to appear via video. The result was unintentionally hilarious.
For some reason the audio sounded as if it had been pitch-shifted, making the Mayor sound as if he were calling in from a room filled with helium. As you’ll see, someone tried to fix the connection while the Mayor was talking, which only resulted in a computer window covering his face as the cartoon voice droned on.
Just when you thought Bill de Blasio's campaign for president couldn't get any worse, he has a massive audio malfunction. pic.twitter.com/ctEk4gJjjD
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) August 21, 2019
Here’s another angle in which you can see the audience reacting with laughter to the mayor’s voice:
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
Afterward, the person hosting the event apologized and said the glitch had been fixed and de Blasio’s video would play again after another speaker:
Update: The AFL-CIO will play the de Blasio video again
“You all deserve to hear the Mayor speak in a— his own voice.” pic.twitter.com/IuMChugmAN
— Blair Guild (@BlairGuild) August 21, 2019
The mayor showed a bit of self-deprecating humor about the incident saying it sounded like he was auditioning for 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
Of course, he wasn’t the only one making jokes:
De Blasio's voice in this video is higher than his polling numbers. https://t.co/PPT2pNsB3g
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) August 21, 2019
Follow the Yellow Brick Road; follow the Yellow Brick Road => https://t.co/nuefpP50ti
— David M. Drucker (@DavidMDrucker) August 21, 2019
Even Jezebel is having fun with this:
Bill de Blasio's true voice–REVEALED https://t.co/Ip4zhtEwhh pic.twitter.com/1CRqLj6Wq1
— Jezebel (@Jezebel) August 21, 2019
This is probably the most attention de Blasio has gotten in a few weeks. He hasn’t met the polling or fundraising threshold for the next debates. But I’d make a token donation to keep his campaign going if he would vow to do this live. At least Mayor Munchkin isn’t quite as boring as the regular de Blasio.
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