Public policy expert Justin Wolfers broke his silence after suffering a nightmarish experience during a serious live segment.
Wolfers, 53, appeared on CNN’s Newsroom Saturday, and was questioned by host Omar Jiminez about the bleak jobs report released Friday.
Things took a turn when the professor suddenly suffered a coughing fit, seemingly choking on something as his eyes bulged.
Asked about the role of the Federal Reserve in maintaining economic stability, Wolfers exclaimed: “Mate, I just swallowed a fly on live television!”
Jiminez laughed, and admitted: “I was trying to keep talking while you were coughing so you could figure it out, it’s all good. I’m with you, I’m with you.”
Miming snatching a flying insect out of the air, Australian-American Wolfers then joked: “Aussies love eating flies!”
In an impressive show of professionalism, the still-coughing Wolfers managed to turn his public bug struggle into a political allegory.
“It might actually be a metaphor, because the biggest thing going on at the Fed is, Kevin Warsh feels like I do right now,” he said of the Fed chairman.
“Kevin Warsh doesn’t like talking about what’s going on. And it makes both of us a little harder to understand and a little harder to interpret. So you can think about Kevin as having swallowed a fly, as well.”
Soon after the interview, Wolfers addressed his involuntary meal with a tongue-in-cheek post on X.
“A fly just zipped into my mouth while gabbing on CNN. Next question was about the Fed, so I did what Kevin Warsh won’t—I swallowed hard and kept talking. I figure folks deserve some clarity about the economy,” he began.
Taking the dark humor a step further, Wolfers added: “(Postscript: The fly is dead. And I’m no longer a vegetarian.)”
Flies aside, the bulk of Wolfers interview was focused on July’s jobs numbers, which revealed that the U.S. lost 23,000 jobs; quite a let down considering the expected gain of over 80,000.
The report also included a damning revision for the previous two months, with figures for job gains sharply pulled down by a combined 103,000.
According to the White House, however, everything is going to plan. “The Trump industrial resurgence is on schedule. Manufacturing and factory construction jobs grew again in July even as government payrolls continued to significantly shrink. Unemployment claims are at record lows,” a spokesperson said.
Trump seemed even more unfazed while addressing the general economic landscape at a Thursday rally. “It’s the greatest economy we’ve ever had by far,” he said.
“The economy isn’t good? They’re fake polls, just like fake writers.”
