Nearly 37 years ago in 1988, Donald Trump went on the Oprah Winfrey Show and your mind is going to be blown when you see this clip.
First of all, he sounds EXACTLY like he does today.
That is what happens when you have moral conviction and deeply held beliefs.
Not rigid to the point where you can’t shift and adapt, but deeply held fundamental beliefs about how the world works.
And one of those beliefs was that the USA is being ripped off by every other nation out there.
It’s truly incredible to listen to him saying this 37 years ago, when it could have easily been said the day before in a Presidential Speech.
President Trump has been incredibly consistent over the years, watching out for America’s best interest.
I was also blown away to hear him describe it as a $200 billion problem back in 1988. Now it’s ballooned into the multi-trillions.
We have been cheated and ripped off for decades!
The other thing that will absolutely jump out at you in this clip is listening to him talk about running for President.
He says he wouldn’t want to do it because it’s a harsh life, but he might consider it if things got bad enough.
An absolutely iconic clip.
Take a look:
President Trump on Oprah Winfrey’s show in 1988.
“I’d make our allies pay their fair share.”
Today he did just that.
— Ian Jaeger (@IanJaeger29) April 2, 2025
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
Oprah: Last year, criticizing U.S. foreign policy—what would you do differently?
Donald: I’d make our allies—forgetting about the enemies, the enemies you can’t talk to so easily—I’d make our allies pay their fair share.
We’re a debtor nation. Something’s going to happen over the next number of years with this country, because you can’t keep going on losing two hundred billion.
And yet, we let Japan come in and dump everything right into our markets—everything. It’s not free trade.
If you ever go to Japan right now and try to sell something—forget about it, Oprah. Just forget about it. It’s almost impossible.
They don’t have laws against it. They just make it impossible.
They come over here, they sell their cars, their VCRs—they knock the hell out of our companies.
ADVERTISEMENTAnd hey, I have tremendous respect for the Japanese people. I mean, you can respect somebody that’s beaten the hell out of you—but they are beating the hell out of this country.
Kuwait—they live like kings. The poorest person in Kuwait—they live like kings.
And yet they’re not paying. We make it possible for them to sell their oil.
Why aren’t they paying us 25 percent of what they’re making? It’s a joke.
Oprah:
This sounds like political, presidential talk to me. And I know people have talked to you about whether or not you want to run. Would you ever?
Donald Trump:
Probably not.
But I do get tired of seeing the country ripped off.
Oprah:
Why would you not?
Donald Trump:
ADVERTISEMENTI just don’t think I really have the inclination to do it. I love what I’m doing—I really like it.
Also, it doesn’t pay as well.
Oprah:
No, it doesn’t.
Donald Trump:
But, you know, I just probably wouldn’t do it, Oprah. I probably wouldn’t.
But I do get tired of seeing what’s happening with this country.
And if it got so bad, I would never want to rule it out totally—because I really am tired of seeing what’s happening with this country, how we’re really making other people live like kings and we’re not.
Oprah:
What do you think of this year’s presidential race—the way it’s shaping up?
Donald Trump:
Well, it’s going to be very interesting.
ADVERTISEMENTI think that probably George Bush has an advantage in terms of the election.
I think that probably people would say that he’s got like that little edge in terms of the incumbency, etc., etc.
But I think Jesse Jackson’s done himself very proud.
I think Michael Dukakis has done one hell of a job.
And George Bush has done a hell of a job.
You know, they all went in there sort of as semi-underdogs—including George Bush—and they’ve all come out.
I think people that are around all three of those candidates can be very proud of the jobs they’ve done.
Oprah:
You’ve said, though, that if you did run for president, you believe you’d win?
Donald Trump:
Well, I don’t know. I think I’d win.
I tell you what—I wouldn’t go in to lose. I’ve never gone in to lose in my life.
And if I did decide to do it, I think I’d be inclined—I would say that I would have a hell of a chance of winning.
Because I think people—I don’t know how your audience feels—but I think people are tired of seeing the United States ripped off.
And I can’t promise you everything, but I can tell you one thing—this country would make one hell of a lot of money from those people that, for 25 years, have taken advantage.
It wouldn’t be the way it’s been. Believe.
Backup video here with captions added if needed:
President Trump Fulfills Promise He Made To Oprah Winfrey 37 Years Ago! pic.twitter.com/bKkoLIoThS
— Noah Christopher (@DailyNoahNews) April 3, 2025
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