Ok, when I first heard this I almost didn’t believe it.

I mean, is Trump really this dumb?

But, this report comes from a very well-respected reporter with Vanity Fair, Gabriel Sherman.

From Vanity Fair:

In the midst of the Golden Globes, as celebrities strolled the red carpet, smiling for the paparazzi, it felt like outside the confines of Tinseltown the world was boiling. Iran had struck an American air base in Iraq, Donald Trump was twittering away stirring the pot, and Australia was feeling the brunt of decades of disastrous climate change decisions.

On this week’s episode of Inside the Hive, Vanity Fair special correspondent Gabriel Sherman, who was attending the Globes for his show, The Loudest Voice, relayed a story that sums up the Trump presidency and the mess we’re currently living in. Standing near the bar, Sherman ran into Frank Luntz, the Republican pollster, and the two started chatting. Sherman asked Luntz when he last saw the President. “Last week, at the White House Christmas party,” Luntz said. Sherman asked what the two men talked about, to which Luntz replied that he had asked Trump what his middle initial “J” stands for. “Genius,” Trump responded.

Now, Luntz says he was “trolling” the reporter. Because “owning the libs” is more important than being honest in Trumpworld.

“I’ve been telling this joke at parties for years, and @GabrielSherman is the first person to think it was real. That’s what happens when the media wants to spin anything as ‘Orange Man bad!'” Luntz said. “Gonna be a long 5 more years…”

I’ve been telling this joke at parties for years, and @GabrielSherman is the first person to think it was real. That’s what happens when the media wants to spin anything as “Orange Man bad!”

Gonna be a long 5 more years… 🤦🏼‍♂️ https://t.co/t0eK70h3jQ

— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) January 11, 2020

Bilton responded to Luntz’s tweet, asserting that Sherman’s confusion was justified because the joke sounded “100% plausible.”

You tell a story to a reporter that is 100% plausible given how close you are to the White House and, when he relays it, you call it spin?” Bilton tweeted. “Sounds more like you’ve been making fun of Trump for ‘years’ and you’re scared he might find out this time and shut you out (again).”

You tell a story to a reporter that is 100% plausible given how close you are to the White House and, when he relays it, you call it spin?

Sounds more like you’ve been making fun of Trump for “years” and you’re scared he might find out this time and shut you out (again).

— Nick Bilton (@nickbilton) January 11, 2020

Luntz responded: “If I was scared, I wouldn’t post half the tweets I do. Ask anyone who has been to any of my speeches or public gatherings in the past 3 years, and they’ll recognize that joke.”

If I was scared, I wouldn’t post half the tweets I do.

Ask anyone who has been to any of my speeches or public gatherings in the past 3 years, and they’ll recognize that joke.

— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) January 11, 2020

Oh, and by the way…the “J” stand for John.