Everything Dr. Phil Has Said About Donald Trump Over The Years
How does Dr. Phil McGraw really feel about Donald Trump? McGraw, who is better known by the nickname Dr. Phil, hasn't exactly taken a firm stance on the second-time presidential hopeful. He has, however, said enough about him over the years for us to connect the dots. McGraw has been a well-known public figure since the 1990s. He has shared his views as a clinical psychologist on his long-running series, "Dr. Phil," in the more than 15 books he's authored, and now on "Dr. Phil Primetime." Consequently, it's no wonder why fans want to know where he really stands on the issue of Trump. Yet, based on what he has said, it seems that McGraw has mixed feelings about the polarizing figure.
As a prominent TV host for decades, McGraw has been in the public eye throughout the many eras of Trump. Through the 2016, 2020, and 2024 elections, McGraw hasn't formally sided with Trump, and he has never endorsed a candidate. Yet, after reviewing the things that McGraw has publicly said about the former president, there's also a lot to be gleaned in what he hasn't said.
Dr. Phil questioned whether Trump would be a good president
In 2015, the world had yet to see how Donald Trump would really act as a political leader. At the time, Dr. Phil McGraw appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and questioned whether Trump's unique disposition would really work in a presidential setting. "I wonder sometimes just exactly how diplomacy would play out with him," said McGraw. He elaborated: "Let's say we were in a real tight, tense situation with another world power and he decided to make s*** up. If he decided to claim that we had 4,000 submarines in their harbor and we didn't have any or something. I just wonder if he might lack in diplomacy." When Jimmy Kimmel asked if Trump might be a narcissist, McGraw simply let out a knowing laugh.
Ultimately, though, McGraw presented himself as both pro-Trump and anti-Trump, depending on the issue in question. "I like Donald Trump, I think he gets a bad rap on some stuff and he scares the bejeebers out of me on other stuff," he explained. Despite admitting to "spend[ing] personal time" with the presidential hopeful, McGraw did poke fun at him, saying "at some point he's going to have to replace some his adjectives with verbs and we'll see what that amounts to." He also took a jab at his infamous hairstyle, asking, "Why do you think he's wearing that hat? Because he's got a dead cat on his head? I don't know."
Dr. Phil refused to ask Trump to concede
In 2020, Dr. Phil McGraw made another appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," and this time, host Jimmy Kimmel attempted to persuade McGraw to get involved in the then-upcoming election. Kimmel joked about Kanye West's recent withdrawal from the presidential race. "Well, he was the first to concede," McGraw noted, per The Wrap. Kimmel said, "He's the only one to concede," before bringing up Donald Trump — perhaps wishful thinking on Kimmel's part that Trump might be the next to drop out of the race.
"Do you think, if you picked up the phone, you could call President Trump and he would take the phone call?" Kimmel asked. McGraw responded, "yeah," but when asked if he would call Trump, he declined. McGraw elaborated, stating his belief that Trump was "a little upset," adding, "We don't respond to what happens in the world, we respond to our perception of what happens in the world." At the end of the interview, Kimmel asked McGraw once more to call Trump, but the psychologist didn't take the bait. While actually calling up Trump to ask him to drop out of the election would have been quite a bold move on McGraw's part, his refusal seemed to go beyond that, since he also expressed concern and awareness of Trump's feelings.
Dr. Phil thinks Trump's age is an issue
In an April 2024 interview with The Hill, Dr. Phil McGraw touched on politics, though he was forthcoming about not wanting to delve too deep into the topic. "I'm not a political voice, and I don't know enough about politics to speak intelligently about it," McGraw said, noting that he is "not a Republican or Democrat." Yet, despite not aligning perfectly with either political party, he did think that both candidates in the 2024 presidential election had one problem in common.
For 81-year-old president Joe Biden and 78-year-old former president Donald Trump, McGraw said, "I think both of them ... certainly are probably past their prime functioning, if we just look at the aging curve." He added, "I'm concerned by functionality, and I think when you get to that age, you sure need to look at who's standing behind them in the vice president's role." McGraw also noted that cognitive testing for leaders may be a beneficial law to put in place, explaining, "Pilots are required to do it. I wouldn't want to get on an airliner if somebody hadn't screened the pilot that was up there."
Dr. Phil claimed that he is not a Trump fan
In addition to his openness about not aligning with either Republicans or Democrats, Dr. Phil McGraw has also been open about not quite aligning with either 2024 presidential candidate. When it comes to his real Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden views, he holds an opinion that he shares with many people. "I'm not a big fan of our president or the last one, but I respect the office of the president," McGraw told Bill Maher on a 2023 episode of his podcast, "Club Random," per Fox News. McGraw explained that he "stayed non-political because I think there's idiocy on both sides."
While McGraw stressed that he is "concerned about both sides," he also refused to choose one over the other. Maher repeatedly prompted McGraw to admit that Trump is more of a threat to the country than Biden, saying, "Trump — you gotta, like, be on the page that he's worse than Joe Biden. He's very different than Joe Biden. Come on, doc." Yet, McGraw remained steadfast in his unwillingness to agree and asserted that his concerns lie less with politics and more with culture.
Dr. Phil complimented Trump's thick skin
On June 6, 2024, one week after Donald Trump's guilty verdict in his historic criminal fraud trial, Dr. Phil McGraw interviewed the former president on his show, "Dr. Phil Primetime." The interview, itself, showed McGraw's compassion for Trump. The pair discussed Trump's trial and how he deals with all the backlash he receives. Ultimately, their strange partnership and McGraw's tendency to flatter Trump in the interview gained plenty of backlash on the internet. And, there was one comment, in particular, that McGraw made that raised some eyebrows. "I know you got thick skin. You're not one of those people that's afflicted with the need to be loved by strangers. I get that," McGraw said to the former president. For a political figure who has often received criticism for what seems to be particularly thin skin, this was an unusual comment.
McGraw went on to say, "You're a billionaire. You got a great family. You're a very dedicated father." He added, "My question is: why do you subject yourself to this?" When asked outright about his opinion on Trump over the years, McGraw has always been careful not to fully commit one way or the other. Yet, the interview certainly seemed to have a pro-Trump angle.