Kelly Ripa does not back down when it comes to her honest opinion, and that has been on full display in the past, especially with the likes of Rosie O'Donnell.
However, Kelly Ripa could have predicted a certain scenario. Back when Donald Trump co-hosted Live alongside Kelly, he made quite the reveal backstage. Donald spoke about his political aspirations way back in 2006, and told Ripa that he had lots of support to run for President. Back then, Ripa gave Trump her own advice, and advised him to stay away.
We're going to take a closer look at how that conversation went, along with revealing what went down when Trump returned to the show in 2015, this time with a political agenda.
We'll start things off in a different direction, taking a look at his connection to Regis Philbin.
Donald Trump Had A Close Connection To Regis Philbin And The Respect Was Mutual
When Regis Philbin passed away at the age of 88, Donald Trump was among the first to offer his condolences via Twitter. He tweeted out, “One of the greats in the history of television, Regis Philbin has passed on to even greater airwaves, at 88,” Trump said. “He was a fantastic person, and my friend. He kept telling me to run for President. Holds the record for “most live television”, and he did it well. Regis, we love you."
“And to Joy, his wonderful wife who he loved so much, my warmest condolences!!!”
The two met back in 1983 and according to Regis, Trump was among the last great New Yorkers. He revealed, "He is one of the few great New York characters we have left: Donald Trump. Or as I like to call him: the Trumpster! Yes, he is flamboyant. He is colorful, and he is unafraid to take chances. His private plane is bigger than most. His Palm Beach home, Mar-a-Lago, is enormous, too."
"His golf courses are among the very best in the country. He literally lives higher—and also probably more luxuriously—than anyone else inside that tower he built… that tower which rejuvenated Fifth Avenue and brought New York real estate back to life in the early 80s."
It seems like Regis' co-host Kelly Ripa was also very aware of Trump's lifestyle and his love for golf. Therefore, she felt as though it might be a better idea for Donald to avoid the headache of entering the world of politics.
Back In 2006, Donald Trump Was Already Telling Kelly Ripa About His Plans To Run For President
Way back in 2006, Donald Trump appeared as a co-host alongside Kelly Ripa on Live. Ripa revealed that Trump was boasting about his draw value and how the ratings would increase due to his appearance.
Ripa would make another major reveal alongside Page Six, making mention that Trump was already talking about a political career back then.
“You know what’s crazy, he was talking about running for president then. Then! And I remember actively having this conversation with him. He said, ‘Everybody wants me to run for president,’ and I said, ‘Who," Ripa tells Seth Myers during their interview.
Ripa continued on, stating that she tried telling Trump to keep his lifestyle instead of a career in politics.
“I said, ‘But why would you want to do that? Why would you want to give up your life, which is so good? You’re not going to be able to go to Florida anymore. You’re not going to be able to golf every weekend,’” she recalled. “And I was wrong! You can do that!”
“In theory, I was right,” she said. “But now I realize that I’m an idiot and none of that is true … He proves you wrong every time.”
Clearly, Ripa's advice did not hit, and in fact, he returned to the show during his Presidential run.
Donald Trump Returned To Live Alongside Kelly Ripa And Michael Strahan During His Presidential Run
Donald Trump appeared on Live in 2015, though this time around his agenda was completely different, discussing why he was running for President. Among the topics discussed is why Trump didn't have any ads out, and his answer made sense.
“I get so much television,” he said. “Can you imagine, you go all program Trump and then you have a commercial Trump, people would get sick, they’d get sick, and I don’t know what they’d do.”
Another hot topic at the time was Donald's take on building a wall to keep immigrants out. Of course, this is something he had to address and make clear.
“We’re going to have tremendous problems and it’s getting worse and worse. And those problems are coming from a certain sector,” Trump said.
“I did it for a limited period of time, but our country has to get its act together. We have people that don’t know what they’re doing and we need safety. We want to make America great again, but we need safety in our country.”
