New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s livestreamed campaign speech turns into a disaster when the distorted audio makes his voice hilariously high pitched, leading the 2020 hopeful to joke he was auditioning for Alvin and the Chipmunks
- Mayor de Blasio’s campaign speech on Wednesday turned into a flop after his audio was distorted and his voice was abnormally high-pitched
- He was due to fly into the Iowa Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations’ conference Wednesday, but couldn’t due to bad weather
- Instead he was livestreamed into the meeting, but an audio issue led the crowd to laugh at his comically squeaky high-pitched voice
- De Blasio was clueless about the snafu, which was corrected by technicians
- His video was then replayed with the audio fixed to a normal pitch
- De Blasio joked about the glitch on Twitter saying he sounded like he was ‘apparently auditioning for Alvin and the Chipmunks’
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s online appearance at a Iowa campaign event turned into an embarrassing catastrophe when his audio was distorted and his voice became hilariously high-pitched.
The Mayor made a livestreamed speech at the Iowa Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations’ conference on Wednesday, but his political spiel carried little punch as the audio was distorted and his voice sounded like an Alvin and the Chipmunks character.
De Blasio’s face filled the projector screen and he started his speech praising labor unions, but his squeaky high-pitched voice sent laughs throughout the room.
‘Organized labor in Iowa has been fighting a really, really difficult battle but you’ve been doing it in a way that shows so much passion, so much strength,’ de Blasio said in the livestream, clueless about the snafu.
Mayor de Blasio’s campaign speech on Wednesday turned into a flop after his audio was distorted and his voice was abnormally high-pitched, leading the crowd to laugh
All the while audience members were seen crackling with laughter and turning their heads towards the audio technicians in the back of the room to fix the issue.
Washington Post reporter Matt Viser joked the mayor ‘sounded like he’d gulped a canister of helium.’
Even the event’s emcee Charlie Wishman, the secretary-treasurer of the chapter, was seen scratching his head, puzzled over de Blasio’s helium-high voice.
‘Okay, so that was a little bit different. [I] apologize to Mayor de Blasio,’ Wishman said.
‘Our video conferencing was working this morning when [AFL-CIO President Richard] Trumka was on, so I’m not entirely sure what happened.’
![The Mayor made a livestreamed speech at the Iowa Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations’ conference on Wednesday, but his political spiel carried little punch as the glitchy audio made him sound like an Alvin and the Chipmunks character](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/08/22/00/17545460-7381153-The_Mayor_made_a_livestreamed_speech_at_the_Iowa_Federation_of_L-a-1_1566429660644.jpg)
The Mayor made a livestreamed speech at the Iowa Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations’ conference on Wednesday, but his political spiel carried little punch as the glitchy audio made him sound like an Alvin and the Chipmunks character
![Good sport: De Blasio joked about the snafu on Twitter saying, 'A canceled flight can't stop me from sharing my vision for putting unions and working people first (or apparently from auditioning for Alvin and the Chipmunks)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/08/21/23/17545706-7381153-image-a-3_1566425416389.jpg)
Good sport: De Blasio joked about the snafu on Twitter saying, ‘A canceled flight can’t stop me from sharing my vision for putting unions and working people first (or apparently from auditioning for Alvin and the Chipmunks)
![The Mayor joked he sounded like a character from the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks (above) where the furry characters have renown squeaky voices](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/08/21/23/17545448-7381153-image-m-6_1566425710840.jpg)
The Mayor joked he sounded like a character from the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks (above) where the furry characters have renown squeaky voices
De Blasio, who is a longshot in the race for the 2020 Democratic ticket, was supposed to present his speech at the Prairie Meadows Casino, Racetrack & Hotel in person, but his flight to Iowa was cancelled due to bad weather.
The audio was quickly corrected and his speech was played again, in his correct tenor. It’s unclear what caused the malfunction.
‘You all deserve to hear the Mayor speak in his own voice,’ Wishman said.
![The conference took place at the Prairie Meadows Casino, Racetrack & Hotel in Altoona, Iowa](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/08/22/00/17545452-7381153-The_conference_tok_place_at_the_Prairie_Meadows_Casino_Racetrack-a-2_1566429660830.jpg)
The conference took place at the Prairie Meadows Casino, Racetrack & Hotel in Altoona, Iowa
Video of his high-pitched speech has circulated online, leading some to joke ‘The Mayor’s voice is higher than his poll numbers.’
Mayor de Blasio also joked about the matter tweeting: ‘A canceled flight can’t stop me from sharing my vision for putting unions and working people first (or apparently from auditioning for Alvin and the Chipmunks).’
‘To @IowaAFLCIO: Stay tuned for a less-glitchy video featuring my actual (and less entertaining) voice.
‘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.’