Donald Trump reportedly once had a crush on one of his known critics, according to a new book about his time on reality show The Apprentice. The author of the recently released Apprentice in Wonderland, Ramin Setoodeh, wrote about how the former president mentioned Debra Messing multiple times during their interviews. "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,” Setoodeh wrote. "Maybe that’s why he can’t quite shake the bitterness that now exists between them."
Messing, 55, has been vocal about not supporting Trump as a politician. This seems to have really gotten to Trump, according to the book, as Trump claims that Debra previously appreciated him when he was working on The Apprentice and she was on Will & Grace.
He also mentioned Messing's physical appearance more than once when talking about her.
"This Debra Messing, who I always thought was quite attractive ― not that it matters, of course," Trump told Setoodeh during their interviews. "Debra Messing was so thankful. And then I watch her today, and it’s like she’s a raving mess."
Trump claimed that Messing previously approached him at the NBC upfronts in 2004 or 2005 and thanked him.
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"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."
Trump added that Messing "probably wouldn’t even admit it" but "she was begging for acceptance." This is the reason why he's surprised by how she acts toward him now, he claimed.
"She was so effusive," Trump said. "And when I see the hatred coming out of her mouth today, it’s incredible."
