It’s possible that nobody has loved anything or anyone more than Donald Trump loves appearing on television. Even before he was elected president, Trump loved making media appearances that ranged from film cameos to television interviews. Eventually, he fell so in love with being on television that he headlined a reality TV show called Celebrity Apprentice, and by the time he was president, Trump’s dream had seemingly come true: he now had cameras on him wherever he went.
That’s not always a good thing, though, when it comes to his public image. The more Trump appeared on camera, the more he embarrassed himself in ways that made him look downright unstable. And we’ve got the receipts: keep reading to discover Donald Trump’s most embarrassing television appearances!
Going on ‘The View’ and talking about himself dating his daughter
Over the years, Donald Trump has made many inappropriate comments about Ivanka Trump that made it sound like he had thought way too much about dating his daughter. For the former president, the only silver lining was that many of those comments were made to Howard Stern and easily forgotten amid the daily “shock jock” banter.
However, that all changed when he appeared on The View. As reported by Today, Trump was asked about the possibility of Ivanka posing for Playboy, Trump began by discounting the possibility. “It would be really disappointing,” he said, before suddenly adding, “not really — but it would depend on what’s inside the magazine.” Apparently giving it serious thought, he then said, “I don’t think Ivanka would do that, although she does have a very nice figure. I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”
Joy Behar and other hosts were instantly creeped out, as were their millions of viewers!
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Doing a poor imitation of Drake on Saturday Night Live
These days, Donald Trump has a downright frosty attitude towards Saturday Night Live–not a surprise, really, considering how many times the show lampooned his presidency. However, before his political career hit high gear, Trump hosted the show and appeared in a number of cringeworthy skits. All of them paled, however, to the pre-taped video in which Trump tries to imitate Drake’s slick moves from the singer’s “Hotline Bling” video.
Trump is no Drake, and that’s putting it mildly. His moves look like the unholy combination of a dying robot and an older dad trying to look cool in the worst possible way. In retrospect, it’s crazy to think Trump would ever record such a video without realizing that he’s just turning himself into an embarrassing punchline.
Dressing like a farmer at the Emmys
When it comes to looking downright strange on national television, nothing quite compares to Donald Trump’s appearance at the 2005 Emmy Awards. Rather than hosting or presenting, Trump was there alongside Megan Mullally. She was in character as her famous Will & Grace persona Karen Walker, and Trump…well, Trump was there as a farmer, right down to the straw hat, overalls, and pitchfork.
This was meant to be thematic, since the two of them were singing the theme to the 1960s hit TV show Green Acres. Everything from Trump’s clothing to the song made this feel like a broadcast from another dimension, but to make things weirder, Trump seemed quite fond of it: many years later, he tweeted this video to his followers in 2018 because he was about to sing the Farm Bill.
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Being an open pervert on Celebrity Apprentice
When Donald Trump began earnestly running for president, the public was shocked to hear some of his previous misogynistic statements toward women. The worst of these was the leaked conversation with Extra host Billy Bush where he bragged about his ability to sexually assault women with impunity. But here’s the thing: those who had watched plenty of Celebrity Apprentice were probably less than surprised by this statement.
That’s because, in a 2013 episode, singer Brett Michaels claimed former Baywatch star Brande Roderick had actually dropped to her knees in front of him and began begging not to get fired. At this point, Trump interrupted to say “Excuse me, you dropped to your knees? Must be a pretty picture, you dropped to your knees.” He paired the creepy comment with a creepy look to Roderick, and she seemed just as horrified as most of the viewers at home.
When he mocked a disabled reporter
As the President of the United States, Donald Trump was nominally expected to represent the entirety of the country. However, he always made it clear who he felt was beneath him, and that began on the campaign trail in 2015. One particular rally was attended by Serge Kovaleski, a disabled New York Times reporter who had rightfully questioned Trumo’s dubious claims of seeing thousands of Muslims celebrating the 9/11 attacks in the streets of New York City.
During the rally, Trump specifically called the reporter out: “Now, the poor guy — you ought to see the guy,” Trump said, suddenly launching into what appeared to be a cruel mockery of the man’s disability. “Uh, I don’t know what I said. I don’t remember,'” Trump said, continuing his vivid mockery as he showed the world exactly how he felt about the differently-abled.
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Staring into a solar eclipse
It’s a little depressing to see that the most powerful person in the world has the impulse control of a child, but that’s exactly what happened when Donald Trump stepped outside to view a solar eclipse with his wife. Viewing such an eclipse with the naked eye can cause major damage to the retina, which is why Trump and everyone else in attendance had been given special glasses to safely view this solar event.
In the video, you can see Trump look up without his glasses on. This caused a nearby White House aide to gently remind the president not to look, at which point Trump actually looked up again with the naked eye. Fortunately, Trump’s retinas seemed undamaged; the same, however, couldn’t be said for America’s reputation after watching the president nearly blind himself twice, with the second attempt happening after he was explicitly warned what not to do!