Donald Trump harbored a crush on Debra Messing when they both worked for NBC, and the “Will & Grace” star remains an “obsession” for the former president, according to a new book.
In the just-released “Apprentice in Wonderland,” about Trump’s days hosting “The Apprentice,” author Ramin Setoodeh writes that Trump mentioned Messing multiple times during their interviews and eventually dropped a bombshell.
“He confirms something that he’d only dropped hints about in our last meeting. During the early years of ‘The Apprentice,’ Trump even had a crush on ‘Will & Grace’s’ leading lady,” wrote Setoodeh, the co-editor-in-chief of Variety, according to excerpts reported by The Daily Beast and Entertainment Weekly. “Maybe that’s why he can’t quite shake the bitterness that now exists between them.”
Messing has evolved into one of Trump’s fiercest critics, which vexes him to no end.
“A former president who can’t win over a star almost sounds like the premise of a corny romantic comedy, but for Trump, Messing’s rejection is still a sharp dagger to his heart,” Setoodeh wrote.
“This Debra Messing, who I always thought was quite attractive ― not that it matters, of course,” Trump told Setoodeh in the book. “Debra Messing was so thankful. And then I watch her today, and it’s like she’s a raving mess.”
Trump claimed that at one point in the aughts, Messing approached him at a network upfront.
“She came up to me with her beautiful red hair,” Trump said. “And she said, ‘Sir — I love you! Thank God for you! You’re saving the network, and you’re saving my show.’ Because in that world, which I know a lot about now, when you have a hit, a lead-in, it’s a massive difference.”
Setoodeh reminded Trump that “Will & Grace” actually aired before “The Apprentice,” so it was the sitcom that perhaps was boosting viewership for his reality show. “A lead-in ― or a lead-out,” Trump said in an attempt to recover.
Still, Trump continued to build a narrative of Messing’s supposed gratitude and betrayal.
“She was so thankful,” Trump told Setoodeh. “She said, ‘I can’t thank you enough.’ Do you believe this? I’ve been watching her. And I’m saying, ‘She’d do anything for me.’”
“She was so effusive,” he continued. “And when I see the hatred coming out of her mouth today, it’s incredible.”
The presumptive 2024 Republican nominee said Messing won’t confirm the anecdote, but he insisted that “she was begging for acceptance.” He quoted Messing as saying: “Thank you so much for what you’ve done for me, my show, and for NBC. It will never be forgotten.”
A representative for Messing didn’t immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
