White House staff secretary Will Scharf was caught on a hot microphone joking about politics during President Trump’s visit to the U.K.
On Thursday, September 18, Scharf, 39, was at a business reception at Chequers Court, the country home of U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. This was part of Trump’s official visit to England.
While responding to greetings, Scharf was heard saying, “Wonderful.” Then he added, “Our Brand Is Crisis. That was a Sandra Bullock movie that’s a bit too true to life sometimes,” according to SkyNews.
The 2015 film stars Sandra Bullock as a political consultant from America. She is hired to help a controversial Bolivian president get re-elected. She faces a tough rival working for the other candidate. The movie is a mix of comedy and drama.
It is based on a real 2005 documentary. That documentary followed the political consulting firm Greenberg Carville Shrum (GCS). They used American-style campaign tactics to help Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada win Bolivia’s presidency in 2002.
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Trump is visiting the U.K. with First Lady Melania Trump. Their visit has stirred protests from British activists, especially because of Trump’s connection to Jeffrey Epstein.
Back in the U.S., critics from politics, Hollywood, and media have been speaking out about the president and his team. This attention increased after ABC decided to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely on Wednesday, September 17.
This decision came just two days after Jimmy Kimmel mentioned Charlie Kirk during his monologue. Kirk was a right-wing activist who was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University on September 10. He was only 31 years old.
The network’s move came shortly after Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, spoke out. He said Kimmel’s comments were “some of the sickest conduct possible” and urged Disney to act. This was reported by Deadline.
The following day, Carr posted on X (formerly Twitter) defending his position. He warned the FCC was “not done yet” and hinted at future changes to how the media operates.
On Thursday, September 18, Trump spoke aboard Air Force One. He said many news networks are “97% against” him and give him “wholly bad publicity.”
He even suggested that some networks should lose their broadcast licenses. He said, “When you have a network and evening shows that only attack Trump, that’s all they do.”
Trump pointed out that there haven’t been many conservative voices on these shows for years.
This controversy comes amid ongoing clashes between Trump and late-night hosts. After CBS canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in July, Jimmy Kimmel Live! now faces uncertainty.
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In mid-July, Stephen Colbert announced CBS canceled his show. This decision followed Colbert’s harsh criticism of CBS’s parent company, Paramount.
Paramount had settled a $16 million lawsuit with Trump. The lawsuit stemmed from an edited 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris that Trump said was misleading.
This settlement happened while Paramount was merging with the entertainment company Skydance. The Trump administration approved the merger on July 24.
The day before ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live!, ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl asked Trump about Attorney General Pam Bondi’s plans to tackle hate speech.
Trump responded sharply, “I’d probably go after people like you because you treat me unfairly. It’s hate. You have a lot of hate in your heart. Maybe I’ll come after ABC.”
