US presidential candidate Marianne Williamson has made a bold statement in a televised debate, saying her first move after taking office would be to call the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern.
The Democratic Party nomination contender has baffled a global audience after making the bizarre statement in front of nine other candidates.
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When asked what her first priority in the Oval Office would be, Williamson took aim at Ardern and cited a challenge she would make over who could create a better environment to raise children.
"My first call is to the Prime Minister of New Zealand, who said that her goal is to make New Zealand the place where it's the best place in the world for a child to grow up," she said.
"I would tell her: 'Girlfriend, you are so on, because the United States of America is going to be the best place in the world for a child to grow up.'"
Her answer triggered headlines from publications including the Washington Post and the Daily Mail highlighting the obscurity of the response.
Video clips of the moment she recited the return has also taken off on Twitter, being mocked mercilessly by The Daily Show and social media personalities.
Williamson later appeared to attempt clarifying her wording, by posting a video to Twitter.
"I will call Jacinda Ardern, if that's how you pronounce her name, who is the Prime Minister of New Zealand, because she has said that she wants New Zealand to be the country that is the best in the world for a child to grow up.
"And I want to call her and say 'girlfriend, it is on', because I want the United States to be that too."
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