John Baron (pseudonym)

Donald Trump, an American businessman, politician, and 45th president of the United States, has used several pseudonyms, including "John Barron" (or "John Baron"), "John Miller" and "David Dennison". His practice of sometimes speaking to the media under the guise of a spokesperson has been described as "an open secret" at the Trump Organization and in New York media circles.

Background

A writer for ''Fortune'' reported that Trump's father, Fred Trump, had used the pseudonym Mr. Green in business dealings.

"John Barron" (1980s)

Trump used the pseudonym "John Barron" (sometimes "John Baron") throughout the 1980s, with its earliest known usage in 1980 and its last acknowledgment in 1990. According to ''The Washington Post'', the name was a "go-to alias when rumpwas under scrutiny, in need of a tough front man or otherwise wanting to convey a message without attaching his own name to it." Barron would be introduced as a spokesperson for Trump.

The pseudonym first appeared in a May 7, 1980 article where "John Barron, vice president of Trump Organization" spawned rumors of a $1 billion deal to buy the World Trade Center: "I don't know if it's going to happen or not, but it is a possibility". In a June 6, 1980 ''New York Times'' article, "Barron" defended Trump's controversial destruction of sculptures on the Bonwit Teller flagship store (now the site of Trump Tower) that he had promised to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The pseudonymous vice president acted as Trump's spokesperson for three days in that case. Trump continued to pose as "Barron" on occasion for the rest of the decade. In 1983, "Barron" told the press that Trump had decided not to purchase the Cleveland Indians.

In May 1984, "Barron" lied to then-''Forbes'' reporter Jonathan Greenberg about Trump's wealth and assets to get Trump on the Forbes 400 list. "Barron" stated to Greenberg that " st of the assets Fred Trump">f Donald's father Fred Trumphave been consolidated to Mr. onaldTrump." In April 2018, Greenberg retrieved and made public the original audio recordings of his exchange with "Barron", and stated that "Trump, through this arronsockpuppet, was telling me he owned 'in excess of 90 percent of Fred Trump's assets. Ultimately, Greenberg included Trump at the end of the Forbes 400 list at $100 million, one fifth of the $500 million which "Barron" was claiming as Donald Trump's net worth. According to Greenberg, Donald Trump was only ever worth just under $5 million, which was 5% of the net worth which was attributed to him by ''Forbes'' at the time and only 1% of what "Barron" was claiming. Greenberg has corrected the record by stating that, as revealed in court documents in proceedings years later, Donald Trump never owned any of Fred Trump's assets until 1999 after Fred's death, and even then, inheriting only his share of Fred's deceased estate, with Donald Trump's three siblings and some grandchildren beneficiaries inheriting their corresponding shares.

Also in 1984, "Barron" gave the press a positive spin on the 1984 collapse of a plan to build Trump Castle in New York. In 1985, "Barron" urged fellow United States Football League team owners to partially reimburse Trump for a high-priced player. In April 1985, "John Baron, a vice president in the Trump Organization," announced to the press that the Trump Organization had signed an agreement to buy an unopened Hilton Hotel in Atlantic City.

Some New York editors recalled that "calls from Barron were at points so common that they became a recurring joke on the city desk."

Trump stopped using the pseudonym after he was compelled to testify in court proceedings that John Barron was one of his pseudonyms. ''The Washington Post'' suggested that Trump might have used the pseudonym longer if not for the "lawsuit in which he testified, under oath in 1990, that 'I believe on occasion I used that name.

"John Miller" (1991)

In 1991, a reporter for ''People'' attempted to interview Trump about the end of his marriage to Ivana Trump and his rumored association with other women. She was called back by a publicist who gave his name as "John Miller", who gave her a long interview about Trump's marital affairs ("He's a good guy, and he's not going to hurt anybody. ... He treated his wife well and ... he will treat Marla well."), his attractiveness to women, and his wealth. The reporter thought at the time that "Miller" sounded remarkably like Trump, and played the tape to several people who knew Trump and agreed it was Trump. She says Trump later told her it was a "joke gone awry". Trump denied that he posed as John Miller to tell ''People'', " nowiki/>Madonna">Madonna.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Madonna">nowiki/>Madonnacalled and wanted to go out with him, that I can tell you."

In 2016, ''The Washington Post'' obtained a copy of the tape and reported that it was Trump using a pseudonym. Trump denied it, saying, "It was not me on the phone." Later, when a reporter asked Trump if he had ever employed a spokesperson named John Miller, he hung up.

"Carolin Gallego" (1992)

A 1992 letter to '' New York