A relatively little known fact about Donald Trump, who is set to be sworn in as US president on Monday, is his history of using pseudonyms to promote his own interests.
The president-elect has been a figure on the US celebrity circuit since the 1980s, when he was a property tycoon in New York – which led him to frequently engage with the media.
During this period, it was an open secret, according to CNN, that Mr Trump could make calls under different names. He has denied some of the alleged dealings but is said to have admitted that he has used a name other than his own over the phone.
Mr Trump’s staff at the time have confirmed to CNN that he has, at times, responded to requests for comments himself but under the guise of a spokesman.
His biographer Michael D’Antonio wrote: “He’d be able to express things that he wanted expressed about himself by someone that wasn’t him.”
Fortune states that it was Mr Trump’s father, Fred, who gave him the idea, using a character called Mr Green on the phone to make inquiries about an estate he was interested in.
According to various reports, Mr Trump followed in his father’s footsteps and would use different names to float ideas, raise his profile and plant gossip about his divorces.
Mr Trump seems to have left the practice behind as he prepares to take office – but here is a run through his cast of characters to bring you up to speed.
All of the pseudonyms used by Donald Trump
John Barron
The original and best known of Mr Trump’s characters is John Barron (whose surname could sometimes have just one ‘r’), an apparent spokesman for his affairs.
Mr Barron was quoted in the press all the way through the 1980s, initially referenced, according to Fortune, as a voice to defend his controversial business deals.
The Washington Post states: “[Mr Barron] 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.”
Mr Trump kept the Barron act going all the way through the decade, providing quotes in defence of his actions and spinning stories.
According to the Post, in 1980, “Mr Barron” told the New York Times that Mr Trump was unable to respond to reports he was intending to destroy art sculptures. Mr Trump then, three days after first being approached, told a reporter he had been away.
The name had run its course by 1990, when he was forced to testify over claims that he owed some of his workers $1m (£821,000). “I believe, on occasion, I used that name,” Mr Trump said, bringing down the curtain on his secret.
But, apparently, Mr Trump was so attached to the name that he named his youngest child Barron – his lanky only child with third wife Melania, who has recently turned 18.
John Miller
After the decade-long run of posing as Mr Barron, Mr Trump had a new name for a new decade – although this one he has denied using.
In 1991, Mr Trump was going through a process of divorcing his wife, Ivana, and a spokesman called John Miller spoke in glowing terms about his apparent boss and soon-to-be-second-wife, Marla.
“He’s a good guy, and he’s not going to hurt anybody... He treated his wife well and... he will treat Marla well,” Mr Miller told People magazine.
However, the likeness of the voice of Mr Miller to that of Mr Trump was noticeable to many and forensic audio specialist Thomas Owen told CNN that the voices were identical.
“I can conclude, with a fair degree of scientific certainty, that it is Donald Trump’s voice,” Mr Owen said in a 2016 interview.
Carolin Gallego
Mr Trump never tried to speak on the phone as a woman but a more dubious claim is that he invented a character in 1992 when sending a letter to New York magazine.
The apparent Ms Gallego said that, after facing scrutiny for his actions, Mr Trump knew how to treat women with respect – and that she had been his secretary.
"I do not believe any man in America gets more calls from women wanting to see him, meet him, or go out with him. The most beautiful women, the most successful women – all women love Donald Trump,” the letter concluded.
It doesn’t take a massive leap to suggest the style here is very similar to the speech of Mr Trump at his most rambling – some of his quotes do go on and on in this style.
A 2017 investigation by the Washingtonian found no record of a Carolin Gallego or one having worked for Mr Trump.
David Dennison
The Stormy Daniels affair has been a thorn in the side of Mr Trump, who has denied he ever had a relationship with the former adult film star.
Mr Trump was eventually found to have falsified business records to conceal payments related to an alleged affair.
But it all started with a non-disclosure agreement, according to Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. She said that Mr Trump had used the name David Dennison in their correspondence around the agreement back in 2016.
In court, Mt Trump admitted to having used the name, having borrowed it from someone on his high school hockey team, according to Newsweek.
The tale was all the more bizarre for the real David Dennison, who told People magazine that he wished Mr Trump had called himself the equivalent of Joe Bloggs if he wanted a fake name.
