I'll play devil's advocate just this once.

[pepperbear]

Being a professional sound engineer myself, I couldn't believe my ears when I genuinely heard what sounded like a slushy lisp. I just had to go back and listen to the debacle that was TRUSK (MUMP?).

To be honest, I can hear a distinct electronic distortion on virtually every one of trump's "S"s, making it sound like he's saying "sh". musk has a little sibilance too, but it's not as distorted. It also sounds like trump is slightly softer and less present than musk.

I'm probably wrong, but I wonder if someone raised the pitch on trump EVER so slightly, because he sounds a lot more like Joe Pesci than usual.

I saw a picture from the interview where he appears to be speaking on the phone, but unless they are using a mic modeler app, his track would have much less clarity. It definitely doesn't read as well as musk's, which sounds like it was recorded with a studio-quality condenser.

It's almost like someone didn't use a "D'esser" correctly (if at all) on purpose.

[unblock]

1. I'm certainly willing to believe bad mic/transmission problems, whatever, but

then I feel this was a sound I don't normally hear, despite hearing many video clips and podcasts and Teams/zoom meetings, etc.

More common with the 's' sound is more of a distortion/fry/static sound. This sounded more like a proper lisp, an unvoiced 'th' rather than the usual problems.


I wonder if the twitter/x voice technology has some kind of lossy compression that distorts the natural 's' sound? But again, why don't I hear this elsewhere?

[Ms. Toad]

2. I don't have the knowledge you have on the area,

But it seemed suspicious to me that a lisp suddenly appeared. My immediate thought was that it was a technical aberration, rather than a speech impediment.

And from my very limits experience editing videos, but using the "D'esser" correctly (or at all) makes perfect sense.

[kcr]

3. Then wouldn't Elon Musk have a lisp as well?

I think it was Trump lisping because he's lisped before. It seems to have gotten worse. You can' practically hear the spittle flying.
ETA this was not a sudden lisp out of nowhere. He's been slurring his words for awhile.

[yorkster]

5. Yeth, tho much worth...

Perhapth a parthul plate ith to blame?

And what he thed ith even worth than how
he thed it.

[hlthe2b]

4. Okay. Then tell me why Elon wasn't similarly affected? Was it just distortion of Trump's iphone?

I really don't think so. And yes, Trump HAS had pronunciation and verbalization issues before--including lisp-like speech.

[Eko]

7. Audio tracks are usually separated out when doing podcasts

and effect processing can be done for each track. Not that I think that is what happened but it is entirely possible.

[11 Bravo]

6. I lack your expertise, but if it's all the same to you, I'll just say the fucker speaks like Sylvester the Cat.

[Eko]

8. The electronic distortion could be from the mic on the phone being overloaded

by air as he wasn't using a pop filter at all.

[yardwork]

9. If I understand correctly, you're thinking this might be a technical issue?

And, the problem could have been accidental/incompetence OR deliberate sabotage OR even deliberate on Trump's part in a misguided effort to make him sound more like a gangster?