By — Michael D. Regan Michael D. Regan Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-camp-denies-he-posed-as-his-own-spokesperson Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Trump camp denies he posed as his own spokesperson Politics May 15, 2016 5:20 PM EDT Days after GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump denied posing as his own fictitious spokesperson during his business tenure, the presumptive nominee’s senior aide on Sunday has doubled down on the claim. An audio recording posted by the Washington Post on Friday appears to many who have listened to it to sound like Trump professing to be his own spokesperson, a man who calls himself John Miller. The recording was originally made by People magazine in 1991 during an interview in which a reporter asked questions about Trump’s love life and business career. “I’m sort of handling PR because he gets so much of it,” Miller said during the recording, when pressed by the reporter about his background as a public relations representative. “I’ve never seen anybody get so many different calls from the press.” Paul Manafort, senior adviser to Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, smiles as he talks with other Trump campaign staff on, May 3, 2016. On Sunday, Manafort said he did not believe it was his boss on the recording posted by the Washington Post. Photo By Lucas Jackson/Reuters During an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Trump’s senior adviser Paul Manafort said that the recordings were inaudible and were in fact not his boss’s voice. “I could barely understand it,” Manafort said. “I couldn’t tell who it is. Donald Trump says it’s not him, I believe it’s not him.” When asked about statements that appear to be among Trump’s trademark nomenclature, Manafort said he believed Trump’s tendencies were likely picked up by some of his employees. “Words that are on that tape are words that Donald Trump uses,” Manafort said. “I have been working for Donald Trump for six weeks. I’m using words he uses.” Despite claims that he was a new employee of Trump, John Miller recounted intimate details about Trump’s love life, including pop-star Madonna’s alleged romantic interest in the businessman as well as details about the breakup with his ex-wife, Ivana. “He’s coming out of a marriage and he’s starting to do tremendously well financially,” Miller said. The Washington Post said in additional interview requests in the 1980s and 1990s, Trump also used the aliases “John Barron” or “John Baron” to representative himself, while declaring to be his own spokesperson. Barron (also spelled “Baron” in some press accounts) appears to have been Trump’s go-to alias when he was under scrutiny, in need of a tough front man or otherwise wanting to convey a message without attaching his own name to it. Trump testified under oath during a decades-old lawsuit that he had previously used a pseudonym during interviews with journalists, Reuters reported. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Michael D. Regan Michael D. Regan Michael D. Regan is a senior digital editor for PBS NewsHour. @mdregan
Days after GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump denied posing as his own fictitious spokesperson during his business tenure, the presumptive nominee’s senior aide on Sunday has doubled down on the claim. An audio recording posted by the Washington Post on Friday appears to many who have listened to it to sound like Trump professing to be his own spokesperson, a man who calls himself John Miller. The recording was originally made by People magazine in 1991 during an interview in which a reporter asked questions about Trump’s love life and business career. “I’m sort of handling PR because he gets so much of it,” Miller said during the recording, when pressed by the reporter about his background as a public relations representative. “I’ve never seen anybody get so many different calls from the press.” Paul Manafort, senior adviser to Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, smiles as he talks with other Trump campaign staff on, May 3, 2016. On Sunday, Manafort said he did not believe it was his boss on the recording posted by the Washington Post. Photo By Lucas Jackson/Reuters During an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Trump’s senior adviser Paul Manafort said that the recordings were inaudible and were in fact not his boss’s voice. “I could barely understand it,” Manafort said. “I couldn’t tell who it is. Donald Trump says it’s not him, I believe it’s not him.” When asked about statements that appear to be among Trump’s trademark nomenclature, Manafort said he believed Trump’s tendencies were likely picked up by some of his employees. “Words that are on that tape are words that Donald Trump uses,” Manafort said. “I have been working for Donald Trump for six weeks. I’m using words he uses.” Despite claims that he was a new employee of Trump, John Miller recounted intimate details about Trump’s love life, including pop-star Madonna’s alleged romantic interest in the businessman as well as details about the breakup with his ex-wife, Ivana. “He’s coming out of a marriage and he’s starting to do tremendously well financially,” Miller said. The Washington Post said in additional interview requests in the 1980s and 1990s, Trump also used the aliases “John Barron” or “John Baron” to representative himself, while declaring to be his own spokesperson. Barron (also spelled “Baron” in some press accounts) appears to have been Trump’s go-to alias when he was under scrutiny, in need of a tough front man or otherwise wanting to convey a message without attaching his own name to it. Trump testified under oath during a decades-old lawsuit that he had previously used a pseudonym during interviews with journalists, Reuters reported. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now