An audio glitch distorted New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's voice during a live-streamed speech Wednesday to Iowa labor union leaders and members.
De Blasio, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, was scheduled to speak to the Iowa Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations in Des Moines, but could not make it because of inclement weather Tuesday night, the New York Post reports.
He spoke by video link from Gracie Mansion in lower Manhattan, but the "embarrassing audio snafu" made de Blasio voice on the projector screen sound like "an episode of 'Alvin and the Chipmunks,'" according to the Post.
"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 told the crowd, "unwittingly in a high-pitched voice," the Post reports.
Further, "members of the audience can be seen cracking up and glancing at audio technicians in the back of the room," according to the report as de Blasio talked," unaware of the technical problems."
Charlie Wishman, the organization's secretary-treasurer, was confused by the snafu.
"OK, so that was a little bit different," he said. "[I] apologize to Mayor de Blasio.
"Our video conferencing was working this morning, when [AFL-CIO President Richard] Trumka was on — so I'm not entirely sure what happened."
De Blasio even invoked the "Alvin" meme in poking about his speech later Wednesday on Twitter.
"If a high-pitched voice is what it takes to spread a message about putting working people first," he tweeted, "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 Green New Deal for New York City."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.