Trump propagates two fabricated accounts regarding Oprah Winfrey, one of which he has been recurrently disseminating for a decade.
Trump's assertions about Winfrey are rather insignificant. However, they represent the latest instance of the Republican presidential nominee spinning captivating yet untrue anecdotes as he aims for the nation's top post once more.
The End of Winfrey's Television Program
Winfrey endorsed Trump's competitor in the presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris, at the Democratic National Convention in August. On Thursday, Winfrey hosted a live-streamed virtual campaign rally for Harris in Michigan.
In a late-night social media post on Saturday, Trump penned, "Years ago, Oprah Winfrey requested me to be on her last Network Television Show. The final week of her show was quite an event, and it was an honor for my family and I to participate." He then criticized Harris, stating that when he watched Winfrey's event with her, "I couldn't help but think this wasn't the real Oprah."
Fact-Checking: Trump's statement is inaccurate. He did not appear on the final episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 2011, nor even during its spectacular final week. Instead, Trump and his family appeared on the show about three-and-a-half months before it wrapped up.
Winfrey's show came to an end on May 25, 2011. Trump and his family appeared on the episode that aired on February 7, 2011.
Attempting to inflate his past significance to Winfrey, who has supported Trump's Democratic opponents in each of the previous three presidential elections, Trump falsely boasted several times during his presidency about being on her popular show during its final week. CNN debunked the claim in October 2020, noting that Trump had been making it since at least 2013.
The final week of the show featured a star-studded arena tribute to Winfrey, which included notable celebrities such as Michael Jordan, Will Smith, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, and Beyoncé, but not Trump. The very last episode was dedicated to Winfrey alone.
Winfrey's McDonald's Comment
Trump has repeatedly insinuated that Harris is lying about having worked at McDonald's (The Harris campaign confirms that she worked at a restaurant in California during a summer while she was in college in the 1980s).
During a Saturday campaign rally in North Carolina, Trump stated, "And didn't Oprah ask her about her time at McDonald's? And she just kind of ducked that one. ‘Let me not talk about that.’ Oprah said, ‘You worked at McDonald’s, that's terrific.’ Oprah never got to hear the end of it; she never worked there herself. So, Kamala just sort of hid under the desk, along with every other response she gave."
Fact-Checking: Trump's allegation that Harris evaded a question from Winfrey about working at McDonald's is incorrect. In reality, Winfrey never so much as asked Harris about working at McDonald's. Instead, Winfrey briefly mentioned the McDonald's job during her introduction of Harris before the vice president took the stage for their conversation.
This was Winfrey's only remark about McDonald's during the event: "In no other nation on this planet could her story unfold the way it has. From a child of immigrants to big sister to McDonald's worker – there's hope for all of you – district attorney, a wife, and ‘Momala’ to senator to vice president. Please welcome Kamala Harris."
Harris walked out to applause, hugged Winfrey, and they began their discussion focused on topics other than McDonald's.
Despite Trump's assertion, Oprah Winfrey never asked Kamala Harris about her experience working at McDonald's during their campaign rally conversation. (politics)
Trump's influence in Winfrey's career or political activities has been overstated, as evidenced by his false claims about appearing on her show during its final week. (politics)
