C-Span has confirmed that a caller who identified himself as 'John Barron' on one of its programmes last week was not President Donald Trump, putting an end to widespread speculation on social media.
The caller, who phoned in on Friday, criticised the Supreme Court's decision to strike down much of Trump's tariff policy, using language reminiscent of the president's speaking style. He referred to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as 'a dope' and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as someone who 'can't cook a cheeseburger'.
Many online pointed to a 2016 Washington Post article revealing that Trump had previously used the pseudonym 'John Barron' in the 1980s to defend himself. However, C-Span investigated and stated on X: 'The call came from a central Virginia phone number and came while the president was in a widely covered, in-person White House meeting with the governors.'
The network added: 'Tune into C-SPAN for the actual president at the State of the Union Address on Tuesday night.'
According to The Washington Post, Trump first used the Barron alias in 1984 to defend his business dealings, and later admitted under oath in the 1990s that he had occasionally used the name. Barron is also the name of Trump's youngest son.
