During a fawning one-on-one interview with Donald Trump, Dr Phil echoed the former president’s conspiratorial claims that Democrats silenced him during his recent hush money trial to interfere with the 2024 election – as both ripped his conviction.
From the opening moments of the conversation on Dr Phil Primetime, the host made it clear he was on his guest’s side and offered little pushback to the former president’s lies and disproven claims.
“They need to stop this,” Dr Phil said of the criminal case against Trump. “They need to stop pursuing you.”
The host continued that he believed the prosecution against Trump in New York, which ended in a guilty verdict, and the ongoing 2020 election conspiracy case in Georgia, were both secretly White House plots, even though they are state cases, controlled by state governments.
“Don’t be naive people,” Dr Phil told viewers. “Understand there’s a power play going on here.”
The host also claimed a gag order imposed against Trump in March during the hush money trial, based on concerns he would use his platform to intimidate witnesses and jurors, was really an attempt to “muzzle” the Republican frontrunner.
“When you get muzzled in the way that this judge muzzled this case, [the jury] are sitting there saying, ‘What’s the rest of the story?’” Dr Phil said, claiming that the “scales get tipped.”
Trump, despite the ongoing gag order, showed no hesitation attacking the New York verdict, claiming the trial was backward and he was “guilty until proven innocent.”
He reserved special ire for Judge Juan Merchan, the official who oversaw the hush money trial, describing him as a corrupt official who is “so conflicted.”
“I’m the Republican nominee,” Trump said elsewhere. “I was the president and I’m leading the current Democrat by a lot, but I have a gag order from a local judge who was appointed by the Democrat party (sic).”
Trump even took issue with the air condition during his New York trial, which he said he believed was “set that way by the judge.”
“They’ve taken away my voice,” Trump told Dr Phil of the trial. “They’re keeping me in this icebox and they’ve taken away my voice.”
The former president also slammed the witnesses who testified against him, including his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, claiming the witnesses were coerced with threats and told, “You have to say bad things about Trump.”
In regards to Cohen, Trump said, “They’ve destroyed his life. He’s a fascist. These are really bad people Phil.”
Both men took issue with the legal principle that Trump could’ve faced prosecution for something he said on the stand in the hush money trial, where he ultimately declined to testify.
“If you say it was a beautiful day as I remember and it was raining out, we’re going to indict you for perjury,” Trump said.
“I would’ve thrown myself in front of a car to keep you from testifying,” Dr Phil responded, adding, “One of the big myths is that the burden of proof lies with the prosecution.”