Dr Phil McGraw has revealed that his appearance at Donald Trump’s controversy-laden New York City rally in late October came as “an act of rebellion” against Kamala Harris.
While speaking on a recent episode of Piers Morgan’s Uncensored talk show, the popular TV personality and former psychologist, 74, walked back on his apparent endorsement of Trump.
“I’m just not here to endorse Donald Trump. I do not like celebrity endorsements,” McGraw said in a teaser clip posted to X.
The Dr Phil host went on to tell Morgan that he doesn’t like a lot of what the former president says or does, explaining that his speech at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally was more so “an act of rebellion on my part.”
“I requested 25-plus times to speak to Kamala Harris,” he claimed. “I offered to give the identical speech at a Harris rally.”
The Independent has contacted the Harris campaign for comment.
When asked by Morgan if he had decided who he was going to vote for, McGraw responded: “I think I have, but I’ll never tell.”
Last month, McGraw joined Trump on stage at his Madison Square Garden rally. There, he spoke passionately to thousands of attendees, saying that he was “not here just to stand up for Donald J Trump. Lord knows he doesn’t need me to stand up for him. He’s tough as an old army boot. He’s got lots of enemies, different groups that are scared, and between them, they have impeached him, indicted him, raided him, railroaded him, shot him and sued him. And where is he? He is still standing.”
McGraw used much of his speech to defend Trump supporters who he claimed are being “cancelled, intimidated, marginalized, excluded or even fired or boycotted” and then used his professional opinion to declare that Trump isn’t a “bully.”
He argued that Trump couldn’t be a bully because “there has to be an imbalance of power, and when there’s not, it’s just called a debate, and he’s just better at it than anybody else.”
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“No human is perfect,” he added. “We don’t strive for perfection. We strive for excellence. But you don’t have to love everything about someone in order to love them, and the last thing he needs is some celebrity endorsement.”
He also used a portion of his speech to attack the likes of Beyoncé, Lizzo, George Clooney and Robert De Niro, celebrities he claimed hadn’t received any backlash from the media for endorsing Harris.
“Watch what happens tomorrow morning when people find out I came here to talk to you,” McGraw said.
Elsewhere at the controversial rally, a long list of Trump allies hurled insults and racist comments at their political opponents.
Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe also sparked backlash when he insultingly likened Puerto Rico to a “pile of garbage.”
