She hangs up on Obama. Obama!
When a man sounding remarkably like Barack Obama called a Florida congresswoman to congratulate her on her reelection, she assumed it was a joke. So Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen hung up.
She told the caller he was a better impersonator than the guy on “Saturday Night Live,” the Miami Herald reported.
Rahm Emanuel, the president-elect’s chief of staff, called next. She hung up on him too. Finally, Rep. Howard Berman (D-Valley Village) managed to persuade her that Obama really did want to talk to her.
When she and Obama finally spoke, Ros-Lehtinen said, he didn’t blame her for taking him for a prankster. “He laughed a lot, saying in Chicago they do it all the time,” she said.
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
