President Donald Trump appeared noticeably confused after CNN asked him about FEMA official Gregg Phillips' bizarre claim that he once teleported to a Waffle House 50 miles away.
Phillips, a former top Texas health official, was appointed in December to lead FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery—a division with more than 1,000 employees—despite a background that raised questions. For instance, before taking the role, he had made unverified claims, including allegations about election fraud.
A CNN investigation later found that Phillips had gained prominence less through traditional FEMA experience and more through online posts tied to far-right conspiracy theories, along with instances of violent rhetoric toward political opponents.
Among the more unusual revelations: on a podcast appearance, Phillips described multiple instances in which he claimed to have “teleported,” including to a Waffle House in Rome, Georgia—telling a story in which his sons questioned his whereabouts and didn’t believe him when he said he was there.
Phillips said, in part:
“Teleporting is no fun. It’s no fun because you don’t really know what you’re doing. You don’t really understand it, it’s scary, but yet, um, but so real. And you know it’s happening but you can’t do anything about it, and so you just go, you just go with the ride. And wow, what just an incredible adventure it all was.”
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Phillips later returned to social media to defend his claims, insisting his experiences with “teleportation” were real and rooted in his religious beliefs, while arguing his earlier remarks had been misunderstood.
He brushed off the backlash with a casual “haters gonna hate.” In another post—written in a more reflective, almost poetic tone—he said, “I know what I’ve experienced,” framing the skepticism as people mocking what they don’t understand and invoking Jesus Christ as a parallel, referencing the resurrection.
After being told about the Phillips' claims during an interview with CNN last week, Trump appeared as confused as the rest of us:
“What does teleport mean? Was he kidding?”
“I don’t know anything about teleporting… It just sounds a little strange, but I know nothing about teleporting or him, but I’ll find out about it right now.”
We actually understand Trump's reaction here because if even he is thinking, "What the hell?" then there must be something very wrong with Phillips.
The mockery was swift.
Staff at the Waffle House location Phillips claimed to have visited said they had no record of him ever being there, with one worker telling the New York Times, “I’ve seen it all, but I’ve never seen that.”
Afterward, per a source, officials asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to either remove Phillips from his FEMA role or limit his public presence. The department reportedly chose the latter, instructing him to stop posting about “teleportation” on social media.
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