Jay Barrett is terminally ill with cystic fibrosis and is receiving palliative care
A fan of US President Donald Trump suffering from a terminal illness had a bucket list wish come true when his sister, a local Democratic politician, arranged for the president to call him and chat.
Jay Barrett, a 44-year-old man from Connecticut, is terminally ill with cystic fibrosis and is receiving palliative care.
His sister Bridgette Hoskie, a local politician in New Haven, around 60 miles north of New York, organized the call for her dying brother, who once voted for Barack Obama but has since become a steadfast fan of the Republican president.
She posted a video on her Facebook page of her brother talking on the phone to the president for several minutes. "This is a big one," she wrote.
"You're my kind of man, Jay," Trump told him. "I'm very proud of you."
"I'll talk to you again, Jay, OK? You keep that fight going. We both fight," the president added.
"Mr President, through thick and thin, you know there's been a lot of thicks, and there's been a lot of thins, I support you," said Barrett, who only recently became a Republican.
"I wish you could come to a rally," said the president, to which Barrett replied, "I plan on coming down to DC between now and my expiration date."
When Trump urged him not to talk about dying, Barrett said he intended to be around to vote for the president in 2020.
After the phone call ended, Barrett -- who had breathing tubes in his nostrils and throat, looked at his sister who was filming the exchange.
"That's pretty crazy," he said. "Did I just talk to the president of the United States on the phone?" he said.