De Blasio’s video snafu earns laughter in Iowa

A video appearance by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio at the Iowa Federation of Labor suffered a technical glitch that made the voice of the presidential contender sound high-pitched. 

Organizers apologized for the glitch, which had sparked laughter, and later replayed the video with a normal sounding de Blasio.

{mosads}”First of all, I again apologize for the technical glitch, whatever happened with the mayor addressing us,” an event official told attendees. “Following the next candidate’s speech, we will play that video. We’ve managed to fix it.” 

“You all deserve to hear the mayor speak in his own voice,” the official continued.

Journalists quickly tweeted out the glitch, with one reporter pointing out that it sounded helium-induced. 

Mayor Bill De Blasio battling some (helium-related?) technical difficulties as he tries to video call into the Iowa Federation of Labor forum today. I’ll just leave this here. pic.twitter.com/7G0BUznYI9

— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) August 21, 2019 

Not ideal: Bill de Blasio is addressing the ⁦@IowaAFLCIO⁩ convention via video and the sound is distorted pic.twitter.com/jR1MoJZOWa

— Thomas Kaplan (@thomaskaplan) August 21, 2019

De Blasio is appearing via a video feed that, hilariously and unfortunately, is distorting his voice by making it sound higher. pic.twitter.com/ae1zRYxXOZ

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) August 21, 2019

De Blasio later responded to the technical difficulty, joking that he would try his “best chipmunk impression” if it meant being able to share his message.

“If a high-pitched voice is what it takes to spread a message about putting working people first, pass the mic and I’ll try my best chipmunk impression while talking about how we achieved universal pre-K, a $15 minimum wage and a #GreenNewDeal for New York City,” he tweeted.

If a high-pitched voice is what it takes to spread a message about putting working people first, pass the mic and I’ll try my best chipmunk impression while talking about how we achieved universal pre-K, a $15 minimum wage and a #GreenNewDeal for New York City. https://t.co/Ad5QH4goqH

— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) August 21, 2019

De Blasio was one of sixteen candidates slated to speak at the event in Iowa. 

The mayor, along with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), was forced to cancel his in-person appearance due to flight delays, according to the NBC affiliate in Des Moines.

Updated 4:15 p.m.