Donald Trump admits he has a penchant for using aliases
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Yes, Donald Trump admitted on Jimmy Kimmel Live, he has used aliases in the past, but it's only because he wanted to save money on real estate deals.
Trump explained to Kimmel that while setting up transactions, he would use "an alias in terms of setting up a meeting with Mr. Donald Trump. And many people in the real estate business do that, you use alias. And you have to, frankly, otherwise they find out it's you and they charge you more money — and nobody wants to pay more money." He'd often use an alias "when I was out in Brooklyn with my father and I'd want to buy something. And honestly nobody knew who Trump was at that time, nobody knew me, so it wasn't so much so important. But I would never want to use my name because you had to pay money for the land."
Trump has shied away from reports that he used to pose as his own spokesman, going by such creative monikers as "John Miller" and "John Barron." His youngest son's name is Barron, and he said he did use that name once and made "a very good deal." He also revealed that he'd be delighted to have a one-on-one debate with Bernie Sanders, promising the duo "would have such high ratings." Watch the alias conversation below. Catherine Garcia
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Why the Bangladesh election is one to watchThe Explainer Opposition party has claimed the void left by Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League but Islamist party could yet have a say
-
The world’s most romantic hotelsThe Week Recommends Treetop hideaways, secluded villas and a woodland cabin – perfect settings for Valentine’s Day
-
Democrats push for ICE accountabilityFeature U.S. citizens shot and violently detained by immigration agents testify at Capitol Hill hearing
-
Japan’s Takaichi cements power with snap election winSpeed Read President Donald Trump congratulated the conservative prime minister
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
