Call To C-SPAN Under Trump's Notorious Pseudonym Exposes Embarrassing Fact
Viewers who tuned into C-SPAN on February 20, 2026, were treated to a phone-in from someone who sounded very, very familiar. Host Greta Brawner took a call from a Republican in Virginia who quickly introduced himself: "This is John Barron." The caller proceeded to go off about the Supreme Court's recent ruling that President Donald Trump's global tariffs are illegal, in a voice that sounded like the president himself and used the kind of unfiltered insults Trump is known for.
"Barron" called Congressman Hakeem Jeffries a "dope," sneered that Senator Chuck Schumer "can't cook a cheeseburger," and said the SCOTUS's ruling was "the worst decision you ever have in your life." Brawner interrupted the rant to let caller Chester from Baton Rouge have a say, but the brief rant was enough to make the internet wonder who was actually on the phone.
a guy who claimed to be named John Barron and sounded a lot like Trump called into C-SPAN to complain about the Supreme Court's tariff decision and call Hakeem Jeffries "a dope"
(John Barron is a pseudonym Trump has used for himself when talking to journalists) pic.twitter.com/UixNjll7NB
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 22, 2026
As it happens, Trump has been known to pass himself off as a spokesperson named "John Barron" to handle reporters when he didn't want to go on the record under his own name. Of course, he now has a son with a similar name, though in a 2006 interview, Trump said he nearly changed Barron's name at the last minute for reasons he wouldn't explain. (First Lady Melania Trump apparently stood her ground because she had come to think of her baby as a "Barron.") It's no wonder people thought the president might have slid back into his old ways. The video of the clip went viral and sparked quite the debate — which, honestly, isn't such a good thing.
Impostor or not, the call was embarrassing for Trump
Donald Trump's ego-boosting love of naming things after himself is legendary by now, but his most bizarre name change is his alter ego, "John Barron." The president used it most often when he was merely a real-estate mogul trying to pull a fast one on the press. It was assumed he had given up the disguise when he entered the White House — until the C-SPAN call. Opinions roared: Was that actually Trump calling, or a very good impostor?
Author and activist Amy Siskind was convinced: "OMG it's him," she exclaimed on X, with another commenter agreeing, "I'm sure it was him. He used to do this all the time back in the day." Journalist Keith Olbermann was skeptical, however, pointing out that the caller's voice was "too high" and "too coherent" to have been Trump himself. A few users were convinced they heard host Brawner saying "All right, Trump" before cutting him off. Others turned to Grok for answers, and the chatbot suggested Mr. Barron was either "a high-quality impersonation or satirical edit."
C-SPAN cleared things up in a statement on February 22, writing (via X), "It was not the president. 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." Even so, the fact that so many people believed it was real doesn't make the divisive POTUS look good. As the Republicans Against Trump account noted, "It was probably not Trump, but the fact that we can't completely rule it out says a lot."