Donald Trump Has A History Of Bashing Award Shows On Social Media - See His Wildest Takes
Watching Barack Obama's journey from president to two-time Emmy-winning star must have been especially hard for Donald Trump, considering his obsession with the television industry. The former president was a minor Hollywood personality before becoming president, and judging by his tweets, his inability to lose gracefully isn't a recent development. Trump's online beef with the Emmys started back in 2012, with the then-future president upset that his reality TV show, "The Apprentice," hadn't won any Emmy awards.
"Winning an Emmy again is a total joke," he wrote on X (then Twitter) in November 2012. "The Emmys have no credibility — no wonder the ratings are at record lows." Minutes later, he posted again, claiming that "The Apprentice" failed to snag any statues at the ceremony at any point due to "politics." It's worth noting that "The Apprentice" did receive eight Emmy nominations throughout the time it was on air, but lost to "The Amazing Race" in 2006, "Death In Gaza" in 2005, and "Dinosaur Planet" in 2004, among others.
Like his losses, Trump was quite consistent in making his grievances known. In 2013, he also roasted the Emmys, calling it "sooooo boring!" and a "terrible show." He also repeated his claim that the only reason his reality TV show hadn't won any awards was because of politics, though he never expounded on what he meant by that. In yet another X, formerly known as Twitter, post, he complained about not having any Emmy, calling it unfair but pointing out that it wasn't his day job. Amusingly, the cameo-loving businessman also had a bone to pick with the Academy Awards.
Trump wanted to host the 2016 Academy Awards
Donald Trump had beef with the Academy Awards dating back to 2013 when he called them "average at best." The next year, his rating of the show tipped further down as he asked his X followers which was worse and more dishonest between the Oscars or the Emmys. Trump's displeasure wasn't because he thought he deserved an Academy Award, but because he wanted to host the award show and had obviously not been taken up on his offer. In 2015, he gladly shared an article from the New York Daily News reporting about the Oscar's low ratings on X, adding, "I told you the Oscars were terrible—bad look, bad talent—and among the lowest ratings in show's history."
However, on Instagram, the future president was busy vying for the job via a proposal video. "The Academy Awards last night were absolutely terrible, boring, ugly sets, everything," he said. "I have the perfect host for next year, me." However, the Oscars didn't give him the job, and by 2015, Trump accused them of treating America badly. "The Oscars were a great night for Mexico & why not—they are ripping off the US more than almost any other nation," he posted on X. By 2018, Trump was president, but he wasn't still over the Academy Awards. He called the 2018 Oscars the "Lowest rated Oscars in HISTORY," adding that Hollywood no longer had stars —— besides him, that is.
Donald Trump has a lot of feuds with award-winning Hollywood stars
Donald Trump has a lot of feuds, and interestingly, many are with actors and musicians who've had successful Hollywood careers. In 2013, he came after three-time Emmy Award winner Bette Midler on X: "While @BetteMidler is an extremely unattractive woman, I refuse to say that because I always insist on being politically correct." He also attacked seven-time Grammy winner Madonna on X for supporting Obama: "Many people walked out on Madonna's concert when she told them to vote for Obama. Years ago, I walked out because the concert was terrible!"
Trump's political career didn't put an end to his Hollywood feuds. If anything, it gave him a larger platform to put women on blast. Thirteen days before his inauguration, he called Grammy-nominated actress Meryl Streep "one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood" on X for criticizing him at the Golden Globes. The real estate mogul also has a feud with Jimmy Kimmel, who was hired as the Oscars host after Trump publicly asked for the job. It certainly doesn't help that Kimmel often savagely roasts the Trump family. During the 2024 Oscars, the former president posted on Truth Social asking if there had "EVER been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel." In response, Kimmel read out his comments live and roasted the former president's legal troubles.