Dr. Phil McGraw came under fire a few weeks ago after he railed against diversity, equity and inclusion during a speech at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally — and now he’s telling Piers Morgan he only spoke at the event because Kamala Harris’ campaign ignored him.
“That was an act of rebellion on my part,” McGraw told Morgan in an interview released Tuesday. “I requested 25-plus times to speak to Kamala Harris. I offered to give the identical speech at a Harris rally.”
McGraw said he would have happily crossed off Trump’s name and replaced it with Harris’ had he been given the opportunity to speak in front of her supporters.
However, it’s presumable it wouldn’t have gone over well, especially considering how McGraw criticized DEI initiatives during his MSG speech, saying that America was “built on hard work” and “not on DEI.”
The TV personality also insisted to Morgan that his speech didn’t mean he endorsed Trump, despite the fact that speaking at a political rally for a candidate running for office is, in most people’s eyes, the very definition of an endorsement.
McGraw also dubiously claimed that a day after he spoke at the Trump rally, a Harris staffer got in contact about possibly speaking at one of her rallies.
“I said right back, ‘Absolutely, tell me when and where to be, and I will bring a transcript of the speech and give it at a Harris rally,’” he recalled telling the staffer. “And she answered accordingly — crickets. Never heard another word once they found out I was serious.”
HuffPost reached out to the Harris campaign for comment, but no one immediately responded.
You can see McGraw and Morgan discuss the MSG speech below.
McGraw’s reasoning for speaking at the Trump rally incited plenty of snarky remarks on X, formerly called Twitter.
Dr Dr Phil offered 25 times to speak at a Kamala Harris rally but they had actual celebrities so he got snubbed and turned MAGA. MEN ARE TOO EMOTIONAL TO LEAD https://t.co/Ag2U5MThcp
— Bradley Onishi (@BradleyOnishi) November 5, 2024"I offered to give the identical speech at a Harris rally" is exactly WHY he wasn't invited to give that speech at a Harris rally.
— SnarkyLibruhl 2.0 (@SnarkyLibruhl) November 5, 2024Yeah, I’m fairly sure Dr Phil would not rail against DEI at a Kamala rally. Besides, he owes his fame (notwithstanding the fact he lost his licence) to Oprah, so his view is rather hollow.
— Perks (@skerplaz) November 5, 2024Your Support Has Never Been More Critical
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Dr. Phil couldn’t handle a woman telling him no. Fu(k his feelings.
— Outspoken™️ (@Out5p0ken) November 5, 2024Dr. Phil, who surrendered his Texas license in 2006, and has never held a license to practice psychology in any other state since, called Vice President Kamala Harris a diversity equity & inclusion hire when in reality he's the DEI hire plucked from obscurity by Oprah. pic.twitter.com/vM7yNXwIog
— Fly Sistah 🪷 (@Fly_Sistah) November 5, 2024If Kamala wins Oprah should get to open a trap door under Dr Phil on live television before we never see him again
— Tyler Mead (@tylerhmead) November 5, 2024