Details About Donald Trump's Strange History With Lady Gaga

To say Donald Trump and Lady Gaga have had some serious beef over the years would be a massive understatement. For that reason, it may come as a surprise that once upon a time, the 2024 presidential hopeful was a major fan of the iconic singer. Sure enough, though, Trump was a very vocal supporter of Gaga's — and even hinted that he may have played a key role in her success. The link between the unlikely duo goes all the way back to 2008. At the time, Gaga was just starting out. Nevertheless, organizers at Miss Universe wanted her on the show, and Trump, who owned the pageant at the time, agreed. 

As the controversial politician later recounted in his 2011 book, "Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again," he was blown away by the performance. What's more, the following day Trump couldn't escape the buzz surrounding her. "Everybody was talking about how good Lady Gaga was — 'Who is she, where is she? She's going to be someone big, she's amazing!'" he recounted. Trump went on to muse that his influence sealed the deal for the "Poker Face" hitmaker's future career, positing, "She became a big star and maybe she became a star because I put her on the Miss Universe pageant." 

The former "Apprentice" host continued, "It's very possible, who knows what would have happened without it, because she caused a sensation." Of course, Gaga went on to give a career-catapulting performance on "So You Think You Can Dance" not long after, but it's not unthinkable that her Miss Universe performance played a role in her getting booked on the hit show. Either way, there's no denying that Trump was invested from early on. 

Around 18 months after Lady Gaga's performance at Miss Universe, she began her critically acclaimed Monster Ball Tour in New York City. Given how impressed he'd been by her first performance, it's unsurprising that Donald Trump was in attendance for the first show. The day after the concert, he took to X, then known as Twitter, to gush: "I saw Lady Gaga last night and she was fantastic!'" That wasn't all, though. A spokesperson for the businessman turned politician informed Page Six that he was hugely impressed by her performance. "He thinks she is amazing, and it was one of the best concerts he has seen," they enthused.

It's a far cry from the animosity between the two in more recent years — especially when it comes to Trump's thoughts on Gaga's talent, or lack thereof as far as he's concerned. Who could forget the time the former president quipped at a 2020 Pennsylvania rally, "Lady Gaga is not too good" (via X). Very believable, given his prior praise. Trump later threatened, "I could tell you stories about Lady Gaga [...] I know a lot of stories about Lady Gaga." TBD if one of the stories was about him going backstage at the aforementioned concert to get a pic with her, upon which she reportedly scribbled, "You're fired." 

Something tells us Lady Gaga wasn't exactly bothered by losing a fan in Donald Trump. After all, a few months ahead of his comments in Pennsylvania, she slammed him in a very public way. Taking to Instagram in the wake of George Floyd's murder, the pop star wrote, "We have known he is a fool, and a racist, since he took office." It wasn't the first time she showed her disdain for Trump either. Four years prior, the "Just Dance" hitmaker refused to even discuss him during an interview with BBC News. In response to what she thought might happen if Trump won the presidential election, Gaga didn't hide her expression of disgust before declaring, "I have nothing to say of him."

At the time of the controversial politician's initial run for office, Gaga openly endorsed Hillary Clinton. Further, Gaga also went on to have a great relationship with President Joe Biden, and she publicly endorsed him, too. The pop star ultimately performed at Biden's inauguration, her dress for the occasion full of surprising details (like it being bulletproof) and subtle hints at Gaga's hopes for peace. At the time of writing, she has not confirmed whether she backs Kamala Harris. However, despite what one particularly bizarre hoax doing the rounds on Truth Social suggests, the singer is certainly not backing Trump. These two have a long history, but there's no love lost between them.