Ellen DeGeneres said she wouldn’t invite President Trump to her show if she had the opportunity. Matt Lauer from the Today Show interviewed DeGeneres on the set of her TV show. They discussed Trump, coming out and her prank war with Lauer.

In the interview, Lauer asked her about her relationship with Donald Trump, whether she knew him at all or if she had had a chance to talk to him before. DeGeneres recalled knowing him from Celebrity Apprentice because she taped a segment for her show when Trump hosted his reality show. However, she noted that she had not talked to him since, and when Lauer asked her if she’d ever have him on The Ellen Show, she said no.

Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres and Matt Lauer. Image credit: Warner Bros.

‘He’s against everything that I stand for’

Lauer was taken aback by her response and dug deeper, asking her why she wouldn’t have the president of the United States on her show. She replied she’s not going to change his mind, and he’s against everything that DeGeneres stands for.

“We need to look at someone else who looks different than us and believes in something that we don’t believe and still accept them and still let them have their rights,” added De Generes.

DeGenere’s opinion on Trump is opposite to her feelings about former President Barack Obama, who appeared several times on the show, as well as Michelle Obama.

On Obama’s final day in office, the talk show even dedicated a tribute video to the family. In the video, she personally thanked Obama for changing her life, as she was able to legally marry to her wife Portia De Rossi thanks to legislation passed on his time in office.

“His courage and compassion created equality for everyone,” said DeGeneres in the tribute video. “He moved us forward and made more happen in the past eight years than I ever dreamed possible. I love him. I love Michelle.”

DeGeneres discussed coming out and said she should have done it sooner

Ellen also discussed coming out with Lauer, and she said that she wished she would have come out earlier. Ellen recalls receiving tons of support when she came out 20 years ago, claiming that she got letters from people who were going to take their lives but decided not to do so when she came out, and individuals who were able to sit down with their parents and tell them they were gay.

DeGeneres said that she also got death threats when she came out and that she struggled to find work in three years, as no one would hire her. However, at that time she started writing stand-up comedy again and eventually started her talk show, which is one of the most popular daytime talk shows in the world.

Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres alongside her wife Portia de Rossi at the People’s Choice Awards. Image credit: Getty Images.

Ellen is a spokeswoman for many social causes including UNICEF, breast cancer, and PETA. In 2016 she received a People’s Choice Awards for her humanitarian work.

Source: Today