C-SPAN had to clear the air, confirming that the “John Barron” caller who went viral was absolutely not President Trump himself, as reported by The Hill. The network felt compelled to address the swirling speculation directly, which just goes to show how much buzz this call generated.
The whole thing kicked off after the Supreme Court made a big decision on Friday, striking down several of the president’s tariffs. A man called into C-SPAN, identifying himself as “John Barron,” and he wasn’t happy about the ruling. Host Greta Brawner said the caller was a Republican from Virginia. He quickly declared the decision “the worst decision you’d ever have in your life, practically.”
This caller really went for it, sounding like he was doing an impression of President Trump. “This is a terrible decision,” he stated emphatically. He didn’t stop there, also taking aim at political figures. “And you have Hakeem Jeffries, he’s a dope, and you have Chuck Schumer, who can’t cook a cheeseburger,” he added. He then concluded by saying, “Of course, these people are happy, of course these people are happy. But true Americans will not be happy.”
C-SPAN quickly moved to shut down the rumors
They posted on X, “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.” They even provided specific details to back up their claim.
The network clarified that the call originated from a phone number in central Virginia. More importantly, President Trump was in a widely covered, in-person meeting with governors at the White House when the call came in. So, he literally couldn’t have been on the phone with C-SPAN. They wrapped up their statement with a bit of a cheeky plug, telling viewers to “Tune into C-SPAN for the actual president at the State of the Union Address on Tuesday night.”
The reason this “John Barron” name caused such a stir is because of its history with President Trump. Back in the 1980s, he reportedly used the pseudonym “John Barron” on several occasions. It’s been reported that he would call media outlets, pretending to be a spokesperson for himself, and provide comments under this alias. Imagine that, acting as your own public relations person under a different name!
He eventually stopped using the name after testifying under oath in 1990, where he admitted, “I believe on occasion I used that name.” It’s definitely a quirky piece of his past that resurfaced in a very unexpected way.
Published: Feb 23, 2026 11:30 am