Donald Trump has attacked Oprah Winfrey after the veteran talk show host held a livestream for Vice President Kamala Harris during which the former president and his political record were repeatedly criticized.
Trump, who appeared many times on The Oprah Winfrey Show between 1988 and 2011, complained that the person he saw during the interview wasn’t “the real Oprah” and alleged that during more cordial times he had been invited to appear on the last edition of her program.
Donald Trump attends a town hall meeting in Flint, Michigan, on September 17, 2024 and Oprah Winfrey at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, on August 21, 2024. Trump, in an attack of Winfrey, claimed he’d appeared in the final week of her show.
L-R: JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images; SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
The Claim
A post on Truth Social by Trump, posted on September 22, 2024, said: “A long time ago, Oprah Winfrey asked me to do her last Network Television Show.
“The final week of her show was a big deal, and it was my honor, with my family, to do it.
“When I watched her interview yesterday with a woman who is destroying, through her complete and total incompetence, America, I couldn’t help but think this isn’t the real Oprah, this isn’t a person that wants millions of people, from prisons and mental institutions, and terrorists.”
The Facts
While Trump has been on Oprah, he was not on the show during her final week as multiple reports at the time show.
Reports and records of appearances submitted to iMDB show that Trump was on The Oprah Winfrey Show eight times. His last appearance was on February 7, 2011, when he was interviewed alongside his family, more than three months before the final show
Trump also provided a farewell message for Winfrey’s final season, as her website shows.
“Oprah’s a bigger-than-life person, but the truth is, she’s got a tremendous heart,” Trump said.
Appearing on the show for the first time in 1988, Trump shared his political ambitions and a recipe for turkey burgers, among other topics.
“There’s great chemistry. And when there’s great chemistry, I guess it’s fantastic television, but we just had a great time together,” he said.
“So whether it’s a turkey burger or a very serious subject, there’s nobody that does it better than Oprah.”
However, despite the kind words, Trump was not among the guests that appeared on the show during its final week.
Entertainment Tonight and The Hollywood Reporter wrote about the cavalcade of stars that showed up, which included Beyoncé, Madonna, Steve Carell, and Will Smith among others. Trump, however, was not on the list.
As reported by CNN in 2020, the former president has been repeating this false claim since 2013.
Newsweek has contacted a Trump media representative for comment.
The Ruling
False.
Trump’s last appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show was on February 7, 2011, more than three months before the final show was broadcast.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek‘s Fact Check team
