Russian pranksters say they fooled Bernie Sanders by posing as Greta Thunberg

A pair of Russian pranksters who have targeted several high-profile American politicians claim they called Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders late last year posing as teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg with an offer to support his campaign.

Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov Told the Associated Press the call took place in December 2019. The pair posted an audio recording of the purported call to YouTube on Thursday. The Sanders campaign did not immediately return Fox News’ request to verify whether or not the recording is authentic.

The recording was released more than two months after the call because of Sanders’ success in the Iowa Democratic caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, they said.

On the call, a female pretends to be Thunberg and Stolyarov plays her father, Svante. They offer to lend support to the Vermont senator’s campaign. Sanders suggests “Greta” make a public statement in support of him and that they do an event together the next time she visits the United States.

“Let us continue to talk and when you come to the United States I will bring some people together and we can do some interesting things, and if you wanted to make a statement in support of my candidacy and the program we have outlined for climate change, I would be very very appreciative,” Sanders said.

South Carolina lawmakers rekindle bill limiting how topics like race are taught

Bragg prosecutor leading Stormy Daniels questioning in Trump trial donated to Joe Biden, Democrats

Judge Hands NY Democrats Massive Loss, Axes Abortion Rights Measure

Developing: Donald Trump Provides Real-Time Reviews of Potential VP Candidates – Report

Billy Graham to Be Permanently Commemorated in US Capitol in ‘Rare Honor’

Anti-Israel encampments share common traits with Marxist revolutionaries, BLM and the KKK

16-Year-Old Student Who Was Suspended for Saying ‘Illegal Alien’ Hits Back Against School District

NY v Trump: Judge denies motion for mistrial amid Stormy Daniels testimony

Boca Bash partier’s parents issue apology after son caught dumping bins of trash into ocean

Actor Ryan Gosling Reveals Why He Won’t Do Roles That Take Him to a ‘Dark Place’

Met Gala Stars Mocked as Absurd Outfits Leave Them ‘Unable to Conquer a Flight of Stairs’

Ilhan Omar’s ‘pro-genocide’ Jews remark sparks House censure effort

Trump reads back to media their own trial reporting: ‘No smoking gun’

Watch: Dana White Takes a Shot at ‘Liberal’ Netflix During the Roast of Tom Brady

Watch: Shameless Pro-Palestinian Activists’ Latest Target – WWI Memorial in Central Park

Sanders has been a vocal supporter of tough measures to combat climate change, an issue that has garnered Thunberg worldwide notoriety.

At one point during the exchange, the fake Thunberg proposes to record a hip-hop song with Sanders, singer Billie Eilish and rapper Kanye West.

The pranksters then say they are slated to visit Russia and need advice on how to behave.

“I think what you don’t want to do is simply walk in there and get used,” Sanders said. “Russia and [President Vladimir] Putin has been very bad, as far as I know, on climate change. They have a lot of oil, oil is important for their economy, they make a lot of money on oil.”

The fake Thunberg than tells the senator that he was recruited by the KGB in 1988 when he visited Russia and has since been a “sleeper agent.”

“Now it’s time to wake up and fulfill your mission, become president of the United States, build communism in the United States and work for Russia!” the prankster said before Sanders hung up.

The call is part of the duo’s “Stars Save the Earth” project in which they place calls to politicians and celebrities pretending to be Thunberg.

“Many laugh at Bernie Sanders [and say] that he is a KGB agent and wants to build communism in the U.S. Since he calls himself a democratic socialist, we decided to play up this topic — the topic of Sanders being a recruited Russian agent,” Kuznetsov said.