00:00John in Virginia, Republican. Let's hear from you.
00:03Well, this is John Barron, and you have, look, this is the worst decision you ever have in your life,
00:09practically.
00:10Jack, and Jack's going to agree with me, right?
00:13But this is a terrible decision, and you have Hakeem Jeffries, who, he's a dope,
00:18and you have Chuck Schumer, who can't cook a cheeseburger.
00:22Of course these people are happy, of course these people are happy,
00:24but true Americans will not be happy.
00:27And you have the woman earlier, I assume she's a woman, she's a Democrat.
00:32Did Donald Trump just prank the nation live on television?
00:37Or was it the internet doing what it does best, spiraling?
00:41John in Virginia, Republican.
00:44Because a call into C-SPAN has everyone asking the same question.
00:48Was John Barron from Virginia actually Trump?
00:52Here's what happened.
00:53After the Supreme Court of the United States struck down Trump's tariffs,
00:59C-SPAN opened its phone lines for reactions.
01:02Host Greta Brawner introduced the next caller.
01:04Well, this is John Barron.
01:05John in Virginia, Republican. Let's hear from you.
01:09John in Virginia, Republican. Let's hear from you.
01:12And then, the voice.
01:14This is John Barron, the caller began.
01:17Well, this is John Barron.
01:18And within seconds, social media exploded.
01:22John in Virginia, Republican. Let's hear from you.
01:26Well, this is John Barron.
01:27And you have, look, this is the worst decision you ever have in your life, practically.
01:33Jack, and Jack's going to agree with me, right?
01:35But this is a terrible decision.
01:37And you have Hakeem Jeffries, who, he's a dope.
01:40And you have Chuck Schumer, who can't cook a cheeseburger.
01:44Of course these people are happy.
01:46Of course these people are happy.
01:47But true Americans will not be happy.
01:49And you have the woman earlier.
01:51I assume she's a woman.
01:52She's a Democrat.
01:53But she said she's disgraced.
01:56She's devastated.
01:58All right, John.
01:58We'll go to Chester, who's in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
02:02Democratic caller.
02:03The tone.
02:04The rhythm.
02:05The phrasing.
02:06It sounded exactly like Trump.
02:09The caller blasted Democrats, called the decision terrible,
02:13and delivered the kind of off-the-cuff zingers people instantly recognized.
02:18Online, total chaos.
02:21Two camps formed immediately.
02:23Camp one, it's obviously an impersonator.
02:26Camp two, this is absolutely something
02:28Trump would do.
02:29And here's why that second group isn't crazy.
02:33Back in the 80s and 90s,
02:35Trump was known to call reporters pretending to be someone else.
02:38He allegedly used aliases like John Miller and, wait for it,
02:43John Barron.
02:44In fact, CNN once investigated taped calls from a John Miller
02:48and concluded it was almost certainly Trump,
02:51making very little effort to disguise his voice.
02:54Well, this is John Barron.
02:56So when a John Barron pops up on live TV sounding just like him,
03:00the internet connects the dots fast.
03:03John in Virginia, Republican.
03:05Let's hear from you.
03:07Well, this is John Barron, and you have, look,
03:09this is the worst decision you ever have in your life, practically.
03:14Jack, and Jack's going to agree with me, right?
03:16But this is a terrible decision.
03:18And you have Hakeem Jeffries, who, he's a dope.
03:21And you have Chuck Schumer, who can't cook a cheeseburger.
03:25Of course these people are happy.
03:27Of course these people are happy.
03:28But true Americans will not be happy.
03:30And you have the woman earlier, I assume she's a woman, she's a Democrat.
03:34But she said, she's disgraced.
03:37She's devastated.
03:39All right, John.
03:39By this.
03:40We'll go to Chester, who's in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
03:43Democratic caller.
03:44Clips went viral.
03:45Memes flooded timelines.
03:47Comment sections turned into detective agencies.
03:50Was it performance art?
03:51A throwback stunt?
03:52Or just a very talented impersonator having the time of his life?
03:56But then came the official word.
03:59C-SPAN stepped in.
04:01The network posted that the caller was not the president.
04:04They said the call came from a Central Virginia phone number.
04:07And at the time of the broadcast, Trump was reportedly in a widely covered, in-person White
04:12House meeting with governors.
04:14Still, the timing, the voice, the history of aliases.
04:19It was just believable enough to spark a viral mystery.
04:22So, was it Trump reliving his 80s publicity tactics?
04:26Or just the internet getting carried away again?
04:29One thing's for sure, John Barron had his moment.
04:33Well, this is John Barron.
04:34And you have, look, this is the worst decision you ever have in your life, practically.
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