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.
National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom dead after DC shooting: ‘Highly respected’
Erika Kirk shares emotional Thanksgiving message honoring Charlie: ‘What remains is sacred’
Trump says US will begin stopping Venezuelan drug traffickers by land: ‘Going to start very soon’
Breaking: Trump Announces Female National Guardsmen Has Died Following DC Shooting
Shedeur Sanders responds to Trump’s support after first win: ‘I TOLD YOU SO’
Flashback: Newsom’s 2020 Thanksgiving Rules Should Remind Us What True Authoritarianism Looks Like
DNC chair ‘never wants to hear again’ that Democrats have ‘problem with young men’
DHS moves to cut off South Texas Catholic Charities over migrant grant ‘misconduct,’ documents say
‘Jack Will Be the Architect’: Trump Teams with Jack Nicklaus to Revamp ‘Presidential Golf Course’
Thanksgiving recipes from America’s first families — presidential dishes to try at home
Pope Leo XIV speaks in Turkey ahead of ecumenical meeting with Orthodox patriarch
Military reveals just how much turkey shipped globally to ensure American troops enjoy Thanksgiving meal
Navy Sailor Makes Ultimate Sacrifice Saving Children from Dangerous Hawaiian Surf
Ex-FBI special agent explains Afghan vetting failures in wake of National Guard ambush: ‘Ticking time bomb’
Barr: A Law to Help Murdered Cops and Their Families Has a Devastating Loophole That Needs Fixing
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.
National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom dead after DC shooting: ‘Highly respected’
Erika Kirk shares emotional Thanksgiving message honoring Charlie: ‘What remains is sacred’
Trump says US will begin stopping Venezuelan drug traffickers by land: ‘Going to start very soon’
Breaking: Trump Announces Female National Guardsmen Has Died Following DC Shooting
Shedeur Sanders responds to Trump’s support after first win: ‘I TOLD YOU SO’
Flashback: Newsom’s 2020 Thanksgiving Rules Should Remind Us What True Authoritarianism Looks Like
DNC chair ‘never wants to hear again’ that Democrats have ‘problem with young men’
DHS moves to cut off South Texas Catholic Charities over migrant grant ‘misconduct,’ documents say
‘Jack Will Be the Architect’: Trump Teams with Jack Nicklaus to Revamp ‘Presidential Golf Course’
Thanksgiving recipes from America’s first families — presidential dishes to try at home
Pope Leo XIV speaks in Turkey ahead of ecumenical meeting with Orthodox patriarch
Military reveals just how much turkey shipped globally to ensure American troops enjoy Thanksgiving meal
Navy Sailor Makes Ultimate Sacrifice Saving Children from Dangerous Hawaiian Surf
Ex-FBI special agent explains Afghan vetting failures in wake of National Guard ambush: ‘Ticking time bomb’
Barr: A Law to Help Murdered Cops and Their Families Has a Devastating Loophole That Needs Fixing
The pair has pranked other U.S. politicians in recent months. They fooled Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., last year into thinking he was speaking with Turkey’s defense minister. Graham relayed President Trump’s interest in economic and military cooperation between the U.S. and Turkey.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., was a victim in 2018 when the radio shock jocks posed as Andriy Parubiy, the former speaker of Ukraine’s parliament. During the call, Schiff said he would be willing to accept information damaging to Trump.
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., was also tricked by the pranksters when she was tricked into thinking she speaking with Thunberg and that she had dirt on Trump.
Story cited here.
