President Donald Trump blurted out a bombshell claim when Fox Business Network anchor Maria Bartiromo asked him about his “hoarse” voice during an interview.

Trump has been asked about vocal hoarseness in the past, and gave a pugnacious response. “I was shouting at people because, they were stupid about something having to do with trade in a country, and I straightened it out, but I blew my stack at these people — it’s so stupid,” Trump told reporters in November.

In an interview that aired on Wednesday morning’s edition of Fox Business Network’s Mornings With Maria, the host asked Trump if his voice was “hoarse” from negotiating with China.

The President responded with a hoarseness explanation that seemed to indicate that he has been in direct and heated talks with unspecified “Iranians”:

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: In terms of China, bigger is the other things I do. But everybody said they will never approve the deal, it’s a hard no. President Xi said, it’s hard no, we will never do it. Then American business people got together, paid billions of dollars, and I called up President Xi. I said, you know, it’d be a good thing if you did it. And he did it

FOX ANCHOR MARIA BARTIROMO: Have you been negotiating a lot all day? I mean, is that why your voice is hoarse?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I’ve been screaming at Iranians all day, yes. A little bit of a laryngitis because of my scream. I’ve been screaming at the Iranians–.

FOX ANCHOR MARIA BARTIROMO: So the Iran leadership, you’re screaming at?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You know why? You know why? Because that’s the only thing they understand. They don’t understand being nice. They understand the way I have to do business. I treat all people differently.

Watch above via Fox Business Network’s Mornings With Maria.

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