C-SPAN addressed rumors that swirled on Sunday, claiming that President Donald Trump called the station last week to complain about the Supreme Court's ruling against his tariff regime.
On Friday, someone who identified themselves as "John Barron" called C-SPAN to complain after the Supreme Court ruled by a 6-3 margin that Trump's tariffs were illegal. Listeners speculated that it was the president calling because the caller used the name "John Barron" to identify himself.
C-SPAN attempted to put the rumors to bed on Sunday in a post 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," the station posted 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. Tune into C-SPAN for the actual president at the State of the Union Address on Tuesday night."
C-SPAN's explanation came as Trump was planning new ways to implement his signature tariffs. After the Supreme Court's ruling, Trump announced he planned to implement a "temporary" global tariff of 15%, Politico reported. Any further increase would require the president to seek congressional approval, according to the report.