According to the latest report from Agence France-Presse, British Prime Minister Burnham confirmed on the 18th that he had exchanged messages with someone pretending to be Susie Wiles, the White House Chief of Staff. In a recent media interview, Burnham admitted that he sensed something was wrong after sending “a few messages” through an unspecified communication channel.
On August 18, local time, British Prime Minister Burnham spoke about the prank during a visit to Wolverhampton, a city in central England. Photo source: French media
Reports indicate that Burnham addressed the matter during his visit to Wolverhampton, stating that “no sensitive content was discussed during the exchange.” When asked if he felt embarrassed about being deceived, Burnham replied: “No, I’m not embarrassed, because it was just an extremely brief exchange that didn’t involve anything substantive. Plus, I quickly realized I needed to report it, and that’s exactly what I did.”
“So I handled it properly. All politicians face this kind of pressure and challenge, but everything I did was correct,” Burnham said.
According to Politico’s report on the 17th, Burnham recently had a message exchange with someone impersonating Susie Wiles. However, Burnham soon began to doubt the person’s authenticity and subsequently stopped the communication. Downing Street clarified that only “a few messages” were exchanged and that they were “not significant.” The report noted that the matter was considered serious enough for the British Embassy in the US to raise the issue with the White House. The date and specific content of the exchange remain unclear.
US media reported that on the 17th, journalists asked President Trump whether he was concerned about the incident. Trump responded that he believed it was merely a “communication mix-up” and mentioned that he had already had several “very good conversations” with Burnham.
