NEWSC-SPAN Sets the Record Straight After Caller Sounds Eerily Like Donald Trump
The call sounded like it was coming from the White House.
Feb. 23 2026, Published 2:43 p.m. ET
A caller identifying himself as "John Barron" phoned into C-SPAN's Washington Journal on Friday, February 20, sparking viral speculation that he was actually President Donald Trump.
The caller, identifying himself as a Republican from Virginia, used a voice and rhetorical style that closely mimicked the president.
He called to vent about the bombshell 6–3 Supreme Court decision that had just struck down Trump's reciprocal tariffs.
C-SPAN Host Greta Brawner Ended the Call After 32 Seconds
C-SPAN host Greta Brawner also seemed to think it was the president on line one.
The caller labeled the ruling "the worst decision you ever have in your life" and launched insults at Democratic leaders, calling House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) a "dope" and claiming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) "can't cook a cheeseburger.”
Host Greta Brawner ended the call after 32 seconds, but following intense social media debate, C-SPAN issued an official statement on Sunday, February 22, denying that the caller was actually the president.
The network clarified the call originated from a central Virginia phone number while the 79-year-old POTUS was in a documented, in-person meeting with governors at the White House.
Social Media Lit Up With Critics Slamming 'Pathetic' Caller
The C-SPAN caller was deemed 'pathetic' by critics.
While the president’s public schedule showed a "private meeting" starting at 10:30 a.m. (the call occurred at 10:51 a.m.), C-SPAN maintained that Trump’s physical location made his participation in the call impossible, about which critics immediately cried foul.
Social media had a field day with the C-SPAN incident, lighting up as quickly as the network’s phone line.
“This is not fake, people. It’s just pathetic,” one X user shared in a post viewed nearly a million times.
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The Call Went So Viral, C-SPAN Had to Issue a Clarification
C-SPAN clarified the caller was not POTUS.
“Trump has lost his d--- mind,” another replied.
Some said the caller had to be an SNL-worthy Trump impersonator.
“I don’t think the guy calling in to C-SPAN is actually Trump,” Democratic strategist Mike Nellis wrote on X. “But what does it say about the president that none of us would even blink if he did something this stupid?”
The name "John Barron" is a famous pseudonym used by Donald Trump in the 1980s and '90s.
POTUS Eventually Named His Youngest Son After His Favorite Pseudonym
Donald Trump loved the name 'Barron' so much he named his son after his alias.
Trump famously posed as his own spokesperson under the names "John Barron" or "John Miller" to plant stories, brag about his wealth or defend his business decisions to reporters.
Under oath in the 1990s, Trump admitted he had used the pseudonym "on occasion."
In 1984, "Barron" called reporters to spin the failure of a business venture, and in 1991, Trump used "John Miller" to discuss his personal life, as detailed by The Washington Post.
Trump eventually named his youngest son, Barron, after his favorite pseudonym.
