The Washington Post reporter who ended up on an unexpected phone call with President Trump Donald John TrumpObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE while dining in Paris said he initially didn't know if it was a joke.

Dan Balz, a chief correspondent at the Post, said Monday during an interview with CNN's "New Day" that he was talking about U.S. politics at dinner in Paris when someone asked if he would like to speak to the president and handed him a phone.

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"I didn't know whether it was a joke or exactly what was going on," Balz said.

"The last thing you would expect to hear sitting in a restaurant in Paris is another American who I didn't recognize saying 'do you want to speak to the president of the United States?'"

Balz said when he told Trump he was a reporter, he was "as surprised about this telephone call as I am."

"I didn't know whether it was a joke or exactly what was going on. It was the last thing you would expect to hear sitting in a restaurant in Paris."

WaPo reporter @danbalz details the surprising call he received from President Trump while he was in France.https://t.co/Y4KrpLQG7K pic.twitter.com/fPmmP46l4i — New Day (@NewDay) January 21, 2019

Balz wrote in the Post last week that he asked Trump a few questions but that no newsworthy information was revealed.

He added that Trump eventually asked him “Are you Hillary or are you Trump?”

When Balz replied that he was a reporter and asked Trump if he knew who he was speaking with, it became obvious that Trump wasn't aware, according to the reporter.