# Trump Calling Enrique Pena Nieto > Trump Calling Enrique Peña Nieto is a 2018 video remix meme stemming from a bungled Oval Office speakerphone call between Trump and Mexico's president, endlessly remixed with TV theme songs, pop tracks, and comedy audio. Trump Calling Enrique Peña Nieto is a video remix meme based on an awkward moment from August 27, 2018, when U.S. President Donald Trump struggled to connect a speakerphone call with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto during a live Oval Office press event. The roughly one-minute technical failure, broadcast on camera, became instant remix material as people swapped the audio with TV theme songs, pop tracks, and comedy clips. ## Origin On August 27, 2018, Trump held an on-camera press event to announce a preliminary trade deal with Mexico meant to replace NAFTA[1]. As part of the event, Trump planned to speak with Mexican President Peña Nieto via speakerphone. The call did not go smoothly. Trump looked at the phone and said "I believe the president is on the phone. Enrique?" to complete silence[1]. He pressed a button on the display, got more silence, and then when sound finally came through on a different phone, he had to wave over a staffer to transfer the call to a phone closer to him[1]. The whole ordeal lasted about a minute with cameras rolling the entire time[2]. TIME described it as "the kind of moment you might expect to see in the hit comedy The Office" and noted it was "oddly relatable" for anyone who has dealt with conference call problems at work[2]. - **Platform:** C-SPAN (broadcast), Twitter (viral spread) - **Creator:** @McJesse (The Office remix), @bubbaprog (Tom Petty remix), @arlenparsa (Veep remix) - **Date:** 2018 ## Overview The meme centers on a live broadcast clip of Trump sitting at the Oval Office desk, attempting to call the Mexican president on speakerphone while reporters watched. He pressed buttons, said "Enrique?" into silence, and waited awkwardly for nearly a minute before a staffer had to come over and fix the connection[1]. The moment had the energy of a dad trying to work a new phone at Thanksgiving dinner, and people online immediately recognized its comedy potential[2]. The original clip was funny on its own, but the remix format took off because Trump's confused button-pressing and the dead silence synced perfectly with all kinds of background music and audio cues[4]. ## How It Spread The clip spread across Twitter within hours of the broadcast. Twitter user @McJesse posted a version with audio from The Office spliced in[4]. User @bubbaprog uploaded a cut set to Tom Petty's "The Waiting," leaning into the obvious joke[4]. The biggest viral hit came from @arlenparsa, who set the footage to the closing credits theme from the HBO comedy Veep. The tweet read: "so just as an experiment I put the president's supremely awkward oval office moment to the @VeepHBO closing credits theme song just now. uhh it works v well." It pulled in more than 19,000 retweets and 59,000 likes within 24 hours[4]. CNN covered the Veep angle in a segment titled "Trump's awkward call gets 'Veep' treatment"[3]. TIME, CNBC, and The Daily Dot also reported on the moment and the online reaction[1][2]. The Daily Dot followed up the next day with a roundup of tweets about the meme[4]. A secondary meme also emerged from the same press event. Before the phone call, Trump was photographed sitting with his arms crossed and lips pursed when reporters asked about the recent death of Senator John McCain. People captioned the photo to portray Trump as grumpy or petulant[4]. ## How to Use The format is straightforward: take the original clip of Trump fumbling with the phone, strip the audio, and replace it with something funny. Popular choices include: - TV theme songs that match the awkward energy (Veep, The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm) - Songs about waiting or silence (Tom Petty's "The Waiting") - Sound effects or dialogue from comedy shows The humor typically comes from how well the replacement audio syncs with Trump's confused expressions and button-pressing. The long pause of dead air before the call connects is the key comedic beat to build around. ## Fun Facts - The phone call was supposed to be a triumphant moment announcing the new NAFTA replacement deal, but the technical failure completely overshadowed the policy announcement[1]. - TIME noted the moment was "oddly relatable" because virtually everyone has experienced speakerphone failures at work[2]. - The Veep remix worked so well partly because the show's entire premise was about political incompetence in high office[3]. - The arms-crossed photo from the same event spawned its own separate captioning meme[4]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Trump Calling Enrique Peña Nieto? It's a video remix meme based on a live broadcast clip from August 27, 2018, where President Trump failed to connect a speakerphone call with Mexico's president during an Oval Office press event[1]. ### Where did Trump Calling Enrique Peña Nieto come from? The original footage aired live during a press event about a NAFTA replacement trade deal. Twitter users began remixing the clip within hours[4]. ### What does Trump Calling Enrique Peña Nieto mean? The meme plays on the universal awkwardness of technology failing at the worst possible moment, amplified by the fact that it happened to the president on live television[2]. ### How do you use Trump Calling Enrique Peña Nieto? Take the original video clip and replace the audio with a funny soundtrack, theme song, or comedy dialogue that matches the awkward energy of Trump pressing buttons in silence[4]. ### Is Trump Calling Enrique Peña Nieto still popular? The meme had a short, intense viral window in late August 2018 and is no longer actively remixed. It lives on as a classic example of political cringe humor[4]. ### What was the most popular remix? The Veep closing credits version by @arlenparsa, which earned over 19,000 retweets and 59,000 likes in a single day[4]. ### What was the phone call actually about? Trump was announcing a preliminary trade agreement with Mexico to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)[1]. ### How long did the phone failure last? About one minute, during which Trump said "Enrique?" to silence, pressed buttons, and eventually needed a staffer to transfer the call to a working phone[1]. ## References 1. [Trump calls Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto for trade deal announcement]() 2. [Trump’s awkward call gets ‘Veep’ treatment | CNN Politics]() 3. [Trump Had Trouble Getting the Mexican President on the Phone | TIME]() 4. [Trump Calling Enrique Peña Nieto - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Racial views of Donald Trump]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/trump-calling-enrique-pena-nieto Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library