Former US Army Gen. Wesley Clark didn’t miss a beat during a CNN interview interrupted by his ringing cellphone.
The former Allied NATO commander handled the nuisance like a boss, pitching the phone off-camera while still responding to a question from CNN anchor Jim Sciutto on Wednesday.
(Video: CNN)
Clark was speaking on the recent protests in Iraq and the assault on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
“I’m glad we used diplomacy. I’m glad to see the Iraqi government being able to get its security forces engaged in this point. But this is like by the Iranians – this is like landing a left jab in a 12-round boxing match. I mean, this is just one more punch. So they’ve taken out and attacked some Saudi oil facilities. They were put back in place,” Clark said.
About a minute into his interview, the 75-year-old retired Army General was interrupted by his ringing cell phone.
Clark quickly grabbed the phone and casually tossed it off-screen, barely losing his train of thought in the process.
“Sorry about that,” he told Sciutto who chuckled at the scene.
“That is the best reaction to a ring I’ve seen on the air. Nicely done, General,” Sciutto responded.
“Thank you. They caught it, too,” Clark laughed, referring to someone off-camera who acted quickly to catch the flying phone before it hit the ground.
He quickly returned to his discussion of U.S. strategy in Baghdad in light of Iran’s involvement.
“Iran has its own issues in the world. It’s got its foreign embassies abroad. It’s got citizens abroad. It’s got its terrorist units abroad. This is where we need our allies to help us. And we’re going to have to eventually come back and talk about that Iranian nuclear agreement,” he said.
“So the U.S. Response was appropriate. It was — it looks effective thus far,” he added, referring to President Trump’s quick and decisive actions after demonstrators set upon the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, smashing the door and setting a fire as protests escalated over U.S. airstrikes over the weekend.
“But the Iranians showed they could deliver the punch, they just pull back the fist here temporarily. So we have to be strategic about this,” Clark added. “And that’s the real challenge for the Trump Administration.”
Clark’s quick reaction to his ringing phone sparked many comments on Twitter where some wondered why he had not simply muted his phone before the interview.
It might have helped had he put it on silent ?
— Janine Lazarus (@JanineLazarus) January 1, 2020
This is how I will mute my phone in 2020…and perhaps, forever.
— BroadbrainMedia1 (@BroadbrainTV) January 1, 2020
Who didn’t love this?
— PAR (@ogelgirl) January 1, 2020
— Fourth Estate Public Press (@4thEstatePublic) January 1, 2020
Someone might want to show him him how to tap “ignore”.
— Ann-Marie Poli (@annmariepoli) January 1, 2020
? Innovative approach.
— Clive Simpkins ?️ ✡️ ✝️ ☪️ ☸️ (@clivesimpkins) January 1, 2020
There is a silence option , old man!
— SriTal (@SrikanthTalagad) January 1, 2020
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