C-SPAN shut down online speculation Sunday that a man who called into its live "Washington Journal" program to criticize the Supreme Court's recent decision regarding President Donald Trump's tariffs was actually Trump himself.
"Because so many of you are talking about Friday's C-SPAN caller who identified himself as 'John Barron,' we want to put this to rest: it was not the president," the outlet wrote 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.
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"Tune into C-SPAN for the actual president at the State of the Union Address on Tuesday night," the post concluded.
Speculation rose online after a man who identified himself as "John Barron" dialed into the program to share his outrage over what he called the Supreme Court's "terrible decision" to strike down many of Trump's tariffs on Friday.
"And you have Hakeem Jeffries, he's a dope, and you have Chuck Schumer, who can't cook a cheeseburger," the caller added, appearing to mimic the president.
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"Of course, these people are happy, of course these people are happy. But true Americans will not be happy."
C-SPAN host Greta Brawner identified the caller as a Republican from Virginia.
Commenters on social media played into the speculation regarding the caller's true identity after the segment, with many suggesting Trump could have pre-recorded the message or stepped aside to briefly make the call.
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Others were quick to shoot down the idea, arguing the call was an "obvious prank" and suggesting it was an "AI generated voice."
A 2016 Washington Post article that reported on Trump's use of the pseudonym "John Barron" in the 1980s only fueled speculation.
The outlet wrote that Trump had used the name to provide comments to media outlets while claiming to be a Trump spokesman.
