Poughkeepsie Man is Cursed With Donald Trump’s Phone Number

A Poughkeepsie man has already been pestered by over 500 Donald Trump fans thanks to a Verizon screw-up.

The latest edition of The New Yorker tells the story of Richard Rhodes from Poughkeepsie. The retired EMT worker is 76 years old and is currently disabled due to a back issue. If that's not enough to deal with, he's also being mistaken for Donald Trump.

Rhodes says that a Verizon glitch has somehow mixed up his landline number with that of the current Republican presidential candidate. Not only is Rhodes getting some crazy calls at his home for Trump, but when he makes an outgoing call the other line's caller ID instead says Donald Trump. He says it's made for some interesting phone conversations.

Calls to the Trump organization by Rhodes to help straighten out the snafu have been as productive as you might guess. Verizon apparently has been no help either. Rhodes says that at first he was amused by some of the calls he's received, but now it's becoming a pain. He told The New Yorker;

Usually I can tolerate it and be nice... Unless it’s the middle of the night and I’ve got to get up and go answer that dang phone, because it could be one of my kids. And I pick up this stinking thing and it’s: ‘Hello, Mr. Trump! I know it’s four o’clock in the morning, but I’ve got an idea for you.'

Rhodes says he's not a Trump supporter and the people that call looking for 'The Donald' seem to be a little strange. He characterizes the majority of callers as men and according to his caller ID he says they're mostly from New York and New Jersey. He recalls some calls from as far away as California and Florida which Rhodes isn't surprised by, referring to them the "kooky places."

So what do those Trump supporters who believe they are actually talking to Donald want? Well, Rhodes admits that sometimes he doesn't let on that he's not actually Trump, so he gets all sorts of odd pitches. He says recently he's received lots of pitches for campaign slogans and advice on ramping up his attacks on Hillary.

Rhodes was in the Marines during Vietnam and is in therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder. He says he sometimes gets quite angry and has been known to swear "like a sailor." It's quite possible that his phone etiquette has only been adding to this case of mistaken identity.