Former President Donald Trump told a fictional story at a campaign rally in Ohio, claiming he had outsmarted Democrats by releasing a tape of his 2019 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump alleged that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was deceived by her allies’ false descriptions of the call until she heard the tape and realized he had done nothing wrong. However, this story is entirely fabricated, as there is no known recording of the call. Presidential phone calls with foreign leaders are not typically recorded, and the White House only released a written transcript, which corroborated the whistleblower’s allegations.
Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who listened to the call, confirmed there is no recording. Trump’s false narrative mirrors his previous attempts to rewrite the reality of the call, where he claimed to have bested Adam Schiff by releasing the transcript before Schiff’s comments. However, these claims have been debunked, as Pelosi’s response to the transcript was critical of Trump’s actions. Trump’s inaccurate storytelling continues to perpetuate falsehoods about the Ukraine call and impeachment inquiry.