Was Donald Trump ever on Ellen? What we know as Ellen DeGeneres confirms Trump victory prompted UK move

Over the weekend, American comedian, talk show host, actress, writer, and producer Ellen DeGeneres made her first public appearance at the Everyman Theater in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, since her move to Cotswolds, England, in November 2024.

As part of her conversation with British broadcaster Richard Bacon, she was asked whether the reports that she moved to the UK because of Donald Trump were true.

Ellen DeGeneres replied with a “Yes,” and shared with the audience that she and her wife, Portia de Ross,i decided to relocate to the UK and settle there permanently, a day after Trump’s re-election as the US President last year. She shared that life “is just better” in England.

It is noteworthy that Donald Trump appeared on The Ellen Show a couple of times, including twice in 2004 and once in 2007, during its 19-year run between 2003 and 2022, before it was canceled.

During her latest appearance, Ellen DeGeneres explained that she and her wife purchased a “part-time house” in England as they originally planned to spend three to four months.

"We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis, and I was like, 'He got in,'" she said. "And we're like, 'We're staying here,'" the 67-year-old comedian recalled.

Ellen DeGeneres in conversation with Richard Bacon in England. (Image via X/@EllenD_world)

Ellen DeGeneres further mentioned that if same-sex marriage were reversed in the USA, she and Portia de Rossi would get married in England again, adding that her own country is "scary for people to be who they are." Trump hasn't responded to Ellen at the time of writing.

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Exploring further Donald Trump’s appearance on Ellen DeGeneres’ show and their relationship over the years

Donald Trump first appeared on The Ellen Show in February 2004. At the time, he asked the host to address him by his first name as the duo shared a few laughs. He also talked about having a “great father,” entering the family real estate business, never being “fired,” and about his reality TV series, The Apprentice.

The Apprentice was co-produced by Trump and judged the business skills of the contestants. It ran for 15 seasons on NBC from 2004 to 2017.

During this episode, the POTUS also called Ellen’s mother, who was seated in the audience, “beautiful” and “pretty.” Meanwhile, DeGeneres stated, “She’s available, if you’re interested. I’d like to offer her…” Elsewhere, the duo talked about Trump’s net worth, success, fame, day-to-day life, and more.

Seven months later, in September 2004, Donald Trump reappeared on The Ellen Show and talked about his germaphobia, as well as his wide range of products, including, magazine, a radio show, a reality show, a clothing line, an action figure brand, cologne line, board game other others.

US First Lady, Melania Trump, also appeared in the same episode. Back then, she and Donald had just gotten engaged. They discussed how they met, when they were planning to get married, and more.

The politician and real estate mogul appeared three more times after that on Ellen DeGeneres’ show, and his last appearance was in 2007. In June 2016, the comedian-host exclusively told E! News’ Will Marfuggi that Donald Trump was “welcome” on her show.

"I don't know if we've formally asked him. I mean, he's welcome to come if he wants to come on. I don't think I see that happening. I don't know that he would do that. But I wouldn't say no if he wanted to be on," Ellen stated back then.

However, the following year, DeGeneres voiced her support for Trump’s opponent in the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton. In January 2017, she called out Trump for giving an “order banning people from seven countries from entering the United States, including people with green cards.” Her words came during her show.

"And then on Saturday, the president screened Finding Dory at the White House. I don’t get political, but I will say that I am against one of those two things," she added about the ban.

In May 2017, she told Matt Lauer that she wouldn’t invite back Donald Trump on her show. Ellen DeGeneres mentioned that the POTUS didn’t appear on her show since joining politics because she wasn’t “going to change his mind” and he stood “against everything that I stand for.”

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

In September of that same year, Ellen reiterated the same when Megyn Kelly appeared on her show.

"I would not have him on my show. He is who he is, and he has enough attention. He has his Twitter account and he has ways to get his message across… I don’t want to give him a platform, because it validates him," DeGeneres stated. She went on, "For me to have someone on the show, I have to at least admire them in some way. And I can’t have someone that I feel is not only dangerous for the country—and for me personally as a gay woman—but also to the world. He’s dividing all of us… I just don’t want him on the show."

In January 2018, Ellen DeGeneres mentioned that Eric Trump’s tweet about her reportedly being part of the alleged “deep state” alongside Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was the “craziest thing I’ve seen all week.” She further dismissed Donald’s son by adding,

“So, I found out deep state is supposed to be a group of people who believe are trying to undermine Donald Trump. Which is ridiculous because no one has undermined Donald Trump more than Donald Trump.”

Ellen mentioned not paying attention to politics, but somehow getting involved in it.

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During her recent conversation with Richard Bacon, Ellen DeGeneres also discussed how being gay in Hollywood “is still a problem,” and addressed the toxic workplace allegations against her. She admitted that she could be “very blunt,” but dismissed the rest as “clickbait.”

Ellen DeGeneres concluded that while she would “love” to host a British talk show, she was not sure about her next move and would choose it “very carefully.”

Edited by Niharika Dabral