Stephen Colbert Apologized To His Controversial Guest For Past Comments, But He Wasn't Willing To Do The Same

Summary

• Trump appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2015 and didn't return Colbert's apology for past negative remarks.
• Jay Leno teased Trump about running for president on The Tonight Show in 1999, not taking it seriously.
• Trump allowed Jimmy Fallon to mess up his hair on The Tonight Show in 2016, resulting in applause from the audience.

Donald Trump has become one of the most controversial and talked-about celebrities in history. His run as President of the United States has a lot to do with this reputation. From his tweeting to his policies, Trump raised very strong feelings in the hearts of people in America and elsewhere.

Before this presidential run began, however, Trump was merely another celebrity known for his reality show The Apprentice. After announcing his run for president, Trump appeared on various talk shows.

One of these appearances was on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Colbert had said some less-than-favorable things about Trump and apologized to him during the interview. However, when prompted by the host, Trump didn't return the favor.

Stephen Apologized To Trump For Speaking Badly About Him, But Trump Didn't Return The Favor

Trump made an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in September 2015. At the time, Colbert was still a newcomer to The Late Show stage, having only been hosting the show for two weeks. Colbert replaced former host and television icon, David Letterman.

During his opening monologue, Colbert joked, "One day, I might be able to tell my grandkids I interviewed the last President of the United States."

Despite the jokes, Colbert genuinely greeted Trump by shaking his hand. He proceeded to thank Trump for appearing on the show.

"I want to thank you, not only for being here, I want to thank you for running for president," Colbert said. "I’m not gonna say this stuff writes itself, but you certainly do deliver it on time every day."

"I work hard at it," Trump replied.

During their chat, Colbert questioned Trump about his less-than-enthusiastic reception from the Republican Party at that time. He also wondered if Trump was serious about becoming president.

"I would like to do it not because I want it but because I think I can do a great job," Trump said.

The host even apologized to Trump for saying some mean things about him in the past.

"I’ve said a few things about you over the years, that are, in polite company, perhaps are unforgivable," Colbert admitted.

He was interrupted by Trump, who said there were "some nice things." This prompted Colbert to say, "I don’t remember saying anything nice. But anyway, I hope you’ll accept my apology."

Colbert then asked Trump if he wanted to apologize to anyone.

"Uh, no," Trump answered. "Maybe the audience, how about the audience?"

In 2019, Colbert told CNN's Anderson Cooper that he didn't want Trump to appear on his show again.

"It would be hard for me to be properly respectful of the office because I think that he is so disrespectful of the office that it’s very hard to perceive him as I would want to perceive a president in terms of their status and the dignity and their representation of the United States," he said.

Jay Leno Had Trump On 'The Tonight Show' In 1999 And Teased Him About Running For President

Trump appeared on The Tonight Show in 1999 to promote his book "The America We Deserve." Leno referred to Trump as a "presidential hopeful" in his introduction. He also mentioned Trump was planning on running as a Reform Party candidate.

"Please welcome the next President of the United States, Donald Trump ladies and gentlemen!" Leno said.

Leno's entire introduction had a tone that didn't seem to be taking Trump's bid for president seriously. When Trump entered, the band played "Hail to the Chief," the United States' anthem for the president.

Leno asked Trump how his idea to run for President began.

"An article was written in a real estate magazine about a great deal that I did and the writer said, 'Mr. Trump, would you ever think about running for president?' And I said, 'Well I might.' And they came out with a headline, not about the deal, but that I might consider [running for president]."

Leno continued to mock the idea of Trump becoming president. He then asked Trump if he was ever the president of his fifth grade class. Trump responded that he only ever ran his own company.

"But that's a dictatorship!" Leno said laughing. "This is a democracy!"

Trump Appeared On 'The Tonight Show' Again And Jimmy Fallon Messed Up His Hair

In September 2016, Trump appeared on The Tonight Show again, this time with Jimmy Fallon. In his opening monologue, Fallon discussed Trump's health records, which had just been released. Trump himself talked about them on The Dr. Oz Show.

"It's been a busy week for Trump. Earlier today, he appeared on Dr. Oz, and said that he wants to lose about 15 pounds. Then his barber said, 'Hey, come by any time you like!'" the host joked.

During the interview, Fallon asked Trump if he always saw himself getting into politics.

"I really never did, I probably wouldn't have done many of the shows that I've done over the years if I had," Trump said referring to his reality shows The Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice.

Trump then said that he "gave up a lot" by getting into politics. He also said that he gave up his NBC show in order to run for President, because he felt "things were only getting worse" in America.

Fallon went on to imitate Trump's speaking voice in front of the former President. Fallon admitted that he had done this imitation before on the show.

"I hate to break it to you but I've done an impression of you once or twice," Fallon told Trump.

"You say some shocking things," Fallon added.

Trump responded, "But I'm trying not to anymore."

To top it all off, Fallon then made a request of Trump that would send the audience into applause.

"Could I mess up your hair?" Fallon asked.

Trump was hesitant at first, but soon agreed.

"The answer is yes, but the people in New Hampshire, where I'm going to be in about an hour from now, I hope they're going to understand," Trump said. "Go ahead."