Howard Stern's Surprising Reaction to the Donald Trump Controversy Returning to the airwaves, the 'King of All Media' addressed the 'discovered' tapes of Trump's appearances on his show.

By Dan Bova

James Devaney | Getty Images

Returning from some time off and finding himself in the middle of an election to choose the leader of the free world, Howard Stern (a declared Clinton supporter) announced that he would not be replaying old tapes of Donald Trump's previous appearances on his show.

"Why don't I play all the tapes?," Stern explained to listeners of his SiriusXM show. "I have to tell you why: I feel Donald Trump did the show in an effort to be entertaining and have fun with us and I feel like it would be a betrayal to any of our guests if I sat there and played them now where people are attacking him."

Stern, one of the most successful and entrepreneurial-minded celebrities of all time, spent a majority of his discussion about Trump attacking journalists who claim to have "discovered" some interviews Trump did on the show in the last decade, in which the billionaire joked about cheating on his wife and the joys of having sex with "troubled" women.

Related: This Elon Musk Tribute Band Will Rock You Into the Future

"These conversations that I had with Donald Trump weren't done in private like the Billy Bush tapes, this was on the radio," Stern explained, dismissing claims to have "unearthed" anything incriminating.

Stern did say that he was "honored" that his interviews are part of a national conversation, but stressed that they weren't made to try to "fuck someone over. ... We were having a good time." He continued, "I knew I had a guy who loved to talk about sex. ... I had a guy who loved to evaluate women on a scale of one to 10. These are avenues I went down because I knew it would entertain the audience."

What do you think? Do you think Stern is right to avoid the appearance of attacking one of his guests?

Dan Bova

Entrepreneur Staff

VP of Special Projects

Dan Bova is the VP of Special Projects at Entrepreneur.com. He previously worked at Jimmy Kimmel Live, Maxim, and Spy magazine. His latest books for kids include This Day in History, Car and Driver's Trivia ZoneRoad & Track Crew's Big & Fast Cars, The Big Little Book of Awesome Stuff, and Wendell the Werewolf

Read his humor column This Should Be Fun if you want to feel better about yourself.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

JPMorgan Shuts Down Internal Message Board Comments After Employees React to Return-to-Office Mandate

Employees were given the option to leave comments about the RTO mandate with their first and last names on display — and they did not hold back.

Marketing

The 80/20 Rule of Sales: How to Find Your Best Customers

How you can focus on the customers who will buy the most from you.

Business News

Is TikTok Considering Selling Its U.S. Business to Elon Musk? Here's What TikTok Says.

Reports have emerged that Chinese officials are considering selling TikTok to Elon Musk.

Making a Change

Say Goodbye to Language Barriers with This Affordable Language App

Promova Premium Plan is your key to learning a new language and better communication.

Business Culture

Why Are Remote Work Trends So Different in the US and UK?

While the USA and the UK share similarities, they have markedly different remote work cultures. This is particularly interesting for a US-based founder with UK-based employees. I wanted to explore these differences further so we can understand how remote work policies can be tailored to enhance productivity and employee satisfaction in both countries.

Growing a Business

How Meta Generated $32 Billion in Ad Revenue Last Quarter — and How You Can Create Million-Dollar Weekends Using the Same Strategies

Meta's staggering $32 billion quarterly ad revenue isn't just about size; it's about strategy, systems and execution as well.