Three-Time Trump Voter Calls C-SPAN to Apologize for 'Supporting This Rotten, Rotten Man'

As polling shows Americans are increasingly unhappy with President Donald Trump's authoritarianism, economy, and overall performance during his first year back in power, some of his voters are speaking out about feeling "swindled" and having buyer's remorse, including one who called into C-SPAN on Friday.

A man identified only as "John in New Mexico, Republican," called in to "Washington Journal" after President Donald Trump posted a video on his Truth Social account with the heads of former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama edited onto the bodies of apes—which was widely condemned, including by some congressional Republicans, before it was taken down.

"I voted for the president—supported him—but I really want to apologize," the caller told anchor Greta Brawner. "I mean, I'm looking at this awful picture of the Obamas. What an embarrassment to our country. All this man does is tell lies. He is not worthy of the presidency."

During Trump's first term, the Washington Post tallied at least 30,573 "false or misleading claims." The trend has continued since his 2020 loss—about which he's often lied—and into his second term. Last year, Glenn Kessler, who was editor and chief writer of the Post's "Fact Checker," found inaccuracies in 32 claims Trump made in just one interview marking 100 days back in office.

The C-SPAN caller on Friday also ripped Trump's relationships with corporate leaders and deadly immigration operations, saying: "He takes bribes, blatantly, and now he's being a racist, blatantly. They were supposed to deport the dangerous criminals. They were not supposed to go after small children, storm schools, bring terror upon the little kids and the women and children. Not just the immigrants in the school, all the children are scared."

"This is not a decent man. This is not an honest man. He openly takes bribes. He's pathetic as a president. And I just want to apologize to everybody in the country for supporting this rotten, rotten man," the caller said, confirming that he voted for Trump in all three of the most recent presidential elections. He also discussed the difficulty of finding jobs and primary care physicians in New Mexico.

Common Dreams has not independently verified the caller's personal details. C-SPAN's call-in feature dates back to 1980, and "Washington Journal" has been the network's flagship program for such calls since 1995. This particular call quickly caught the attention of political observers, as Trump and others in his administration contend with growing outrage over US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions and mounting allegations of corruption and conflicts of interest.

"Wow, it's finally happening!" wrote political commentator Ed Krassenstein on X. "Republicans are waking up to the con that Donald Trump is. Listen to this Trump voter who called into C-SPAN to apologize to the American people for voting for Trump. He tears Trump apart for his racist meme about the Obamas, as well as his inhumane ICE raids and his corruption."

The post about the Obamas was later removed. As Reuters reported:

"A White House staffer erroneously made the post," a White House official said. "It has been taken down."

A Trump adviser said the president had not seen the video before it was posted late on Thursday and ordered it taken down once he had.

Both officials declined to be named. The White House did not respond to a question about the staffer's identity. Only a few senior aides have direct access to Trump's social media account, according to the Trump adviser.

MS NOW anchor Katy Tur played a recording of the C-SPAN caller on her network Friday and noted that "this man isn't the only one who appears to be over it. That frustration is being borne out in poll after poll after poll. The numbers all say the same thing. There are no outliers here."

"The president is too focused on foreign policy, too focused on his 2020 conspiracy theory that he won the election when he did not. Too cruel to migrants and children. Too focused on enriching himself. Not focused enough, by the way, on the economy. Not successful in his big promise of lowering prices. Unethical," she summarized.

Tur also pointed to the recent upset in a special election for a deep-red Texas Senate district—Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated Trump-endorsed Leigh Wambsganss—and new Axios reporting that Republicans are worried about losing both chambers of Congress, which they currently control by narro in the midterm elections this November.

In the face of such fears, Trump has bullied some Republican-controlled states to gerrymander their political maps and declared Monday that the Republican Party should "nationalize the voting" in the United States, in defiance of the Constitution. The US Department of Justice is also fighting to acquire voter data from states, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation is summoning state election officials for a February 25 conference to discuss "preparations" for the midterms.