Trump's phone number 'worst-kept secret,' with 50+ interviews in weeks

• President Donald Trump has given dozens of phone interviews to various news outlets in recent weeks.
• Reporters have noted that Trump's personal phone number is being widely shared among journalists in Washington.
• In 2015, Trump's own number was leaked, and he used it as a campaign opportunity by setting up a political voicemail message.

President Donald Trump has given dozens of phone interviews in the last few weeks.

Not only has he spoken to Fox News, but he has also talked to reporters at left-leaning outlets like MS Now, formerly MSNBC. In other examples, he spoke for eight minutes on the phone to Axios on March 5 and another three minutes with PBS News on March 16. A review of the transcripts listed on the RollCall Factbase shows he has given more than 50 interviews directly with outlets since the war in Iran started. By comparison, former President Joe Biden did about 20 in all of 2022.

According to recent media reports, that's in part because his phone number has been shared far and wide. As The Atlantic reported, interviews with the president were once most commonly planned and not cold calls.

Here is what we know:

Was Donald Trump's phone number leaked?

Not quite.

The Atlantic on March 14 published a story, "Everyone Has Trump's Phone Number Now." Reporters Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker wrote that, given Trump's frequent quick phone calls with reporters, his number has been in high demand. They said they were approached by another journalist asking to trade numbers.

The Atlantic asked the White House about Trump's phone, and spokesperson Anna Kelly responded in a statement, “President Trump is the most transparent and accessible president in history. The press can’t get enough of Trump, and they know it.”

Semafor's Max Tani set out to get the number for himself, chronicling it in "Exclusive / Why (and how) everyone is cold-calling the president," published March 15.

He reported it only took him two calls before he was offered the number unprompted, writing it is "the worst-kept secret in Washington."

Other reporters and commentators have also given insight into what it's like to have access to Trump's direct line. Politico's Sophia Cai described calling Trump over the holidays in an Instagram video, saying, "he picked up, just like anybody else. No transfers. No vetting." The hosts of Pod Save America discussed the phone number, and they tried calling Trump on the show after learning one of the hosts got the number from another reporter.

Trump embraced phone leak in 2016

Before Trump was elected president, he was the center of a phone leak story.

While campaigning for the Republican presidential nominee in 2015, he announced Sen. Lindsey Graham's phone number at a campaign rally. Graham, who was running against Trump but is now a Trump ally, made a show of destroying his cell phone in a public video.

Weeks later, Trump's own number was published by gossip site Gawker, which has since been shut down. But Trump leaned into it.

"Thank you @gawker! Call me on my cellphone 917.756.8000 and listen to my campaign message," Trump posted on then-Twitter, now X in August 2015.

The voicemail inbox message played the following message, according to Newsweek:

"Hi, this is Donald Trump, and I'm running for the presidency of the United States of America. With your help and support, together, we can make America truly great again. Visit me at Twitter @RealDonaldTrump and check out my campaign website, www.DonaldJTrump.com. Hope to see you on the campaign trail. We're going to do it."

Contributing: The Columbus Dispatch, USA TODAY

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her onX (Twitter),Threads,Bluesky andTikTok.