Kamala Harris pranked by Russian duo pretending to be Greta Thunberg and her father offering 'dirt' on Trump
After tricking Democrats, conservatives, and royals alike, a Russian prankster-duo has added Joe Biden's VP pick Kamala Harris to their list of victims they have duped into thinking they are climate activist Greta Thunberg. In the senator's case, they presented themselves to be the Swedish environmentalist and her father Svante, and offered 'dirt' on US President Donald Trump. According to files obtained by The Sun, the alleged January phone call indicates Harris had no clue she was being tricked by hoaxers Vladimir ‘Vovan’ Kuznetsov and Alexey ‘Lexus’ Stolyarov. The three-and-a-half-minute audio starts with the vice-presidential candidate Harris accepting a call from the pranksters posing as 'Greta'. "Congratulations on all your leadership," Harris tells them, adding: "I’m so inspired by your courage and your voice." ‘Greta’ responds: "Umm, it would be cool to support you in your campaign. What is the best way to do it?"
Harris answers, "The best way to do it would be to talk about my climate plan. You know what I can do is, I can ask my policy team to follow up with you with more detail on what exactly would be helpful and what is something you would like to do. Then we can talk in more detail about how that can work and that would be very helpful, and I thank you for that." 'Greta' and 'her father' then tell Harris they have been writing to 'many politicians’ but that ‘not many people responded'. Offering sympathy, the senator then says, "Well it just highlights the need that we have to be active. There are forces working against our movement and we have to fight for these things. This is that moment, and you have been a great warrior in this cause."
The pranksters then try to squeeze some Trump-bashing out of the senator. "I am so terrified of what Trump is doing, I even cannot eat or sleep when I see him on TV," the pranksters tell Harris. "That terrible meeting in the UN building in September, I have nightmares. I saw him in the corridor and shouted to him to sign the Paris climate agreement. He came over and he said softly to me 'you will never achieve the goal'." Trump speaking to Greta is a fiction that has been part of the pranskters' routine, and likely refers to a photograph of Thunberg scowling at Trump while he spoke to reporters at the United Nations after a climate summit held there.
Trump has called climate change a 'hoax' and also removed the US from the Paris climate agreement, which aims to reduce the global carbon footprint. Harris offered support to the supposed activist saying, "Do not be discouraged, you have the ability to see what is possible in a way that many do not and there will be people who are going to work against progress. That is always the case, always in history, there have been people who work against progress. Listen, nothing that has been achieved in this world that has been about progress came without a fight. This is the nature of it."
'Greta' then urges, "But it is very sick to behae like that - I mean President Trump…" And Harris replies: "Yes, it is similar to previous times in history when some people could not imagine how things can be different and then leaders did imagine and could see and lead. You have been a great leader, do not be deterred." 'Greta's father' then tells Harris that they used a hidden recorder to grab what the Presiden had allegedly whispered in 'Greta's ear at the summit. "If you would like to get it, we can provide it," the father, 'Svante’ tells Harris.
‘Greta’ adds: ‘Maybe this recording can help you." Harris replies: "Thank you, that would be wonderful," and 'Greta' assures "In my side, I can testify against this terrible man." Harris then thanks them and tells them she needs to hang ups but one of her aides would follow up with the 'Thunbergs' on that.
Harris is the second victim of the Russian duo, who also targeted House Rep. Maxine Waters back in January, around the same time the Harris phone call is claimed to have happened. In their call, the duo once again pretended to be 'Greta' and alleged similar things about Trump whispering in 'her' ear at the same climate summit. Vovan says in the voice of Thunberg emulating Trump "I'll tell you the truth: I really wanted to push the Ukraine president to put my competitor on trial. And he will go to trial with you, with [a bunch of] Democrats. . . . I would have a separate cage for all of you." When they address the 'recording' a shocked Waters can be heard saying "If the public knew he talked to Greta like that, and that she will never achieve - that will go against him, too."
The recording of the call was posted on YouTube this Thursday along with an animated video of the conversation. The duo claim it's part of a 'project dedicated to global problems of modern society'. "Vovan and Lexus discuss them with celebrities and politicians in order to find a solution together and save our planet," the description reads, adding that in this episode they 'discuss the topic of harassment'.
After being pranked, Waters had told The Washington Post: "'This was just another stupid prank by the same Russian operatives who have targeted many U.S. elected officials, including Rep. Adam B. Schiff, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham, Sen. Mitch McConnell, and late-Senator John McCain, and international heads of state such as Emmanuel Macron. The end." Since their pranks went viral, the Russian prankster-duo has also denied that they are agents of Kremlin. In a 2016 interview with the Guardian, they had said they work for themselves, 'nobody else'. In February 2018, the then ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, the Russian duo offered to give him 'compromising' dirt on Trump, along with nude photos of the president and a Russian reality show star.
In May 2018, then-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson fell prey to the pranksters pretending to be the Armenian Prime Minister, claiming Vladimir Putin had admitted to influencing Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn. In August 2019, Lindsey Graham called the Kurds a 'threat' on a call with the pranksters pretending to be the Turkish defense minister. Graham thereby contradicted his public statements made the same week, where he condemned Trump. Earlier in 2020, Prince Harry got on a call with the duo who were pretending to be 'Greta' again. The royal ended up spilling his innermost thoughts about Megxit and why he and wife Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, quit royal duties and move to North America.