President Trump claimed Howard Stern’s longtime SiriusXM show “went down” because the legendary radio host endorsed Hillary Clinton before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump was fielding questions from reporters inside the Oval Office when he was briefed on the reported uncertainty surrounding the 71-year-old and his titular show.
“Howard Stern is a name I haven’t heard – I used to do his show, we used to have fun – but I haven’t heard that name in a long time,” Trump said Wednesday in the White House.
“What happened? He got terminated?” he asked.
Real America’s Voice correspondent Brian Glenn, who brought up the topic with the president, claimed Stern and SiriusXM were parting ways over salary disagreements.
“You know when he went down? When he endorsed Hillary Clinton,” Trump said.
“He lost his audience. People said, ‘Give me a break.’
“He went down when he endorsed Hillary Clinton,” the 79-year-old commander in chief emphasized.
The longtime shock jock’s future on the air remains uncertain as his five-year, $500 million contract with SiriusXM winds down.
Stern, who made a surprise episode of his famed show on Tuesday morning, would be open to a short-term contract at the right price, but is also considering retiring, the US Sun reported.
The host promised he would be returning to his regular schedule on Sept. 2. with no indication of if and when he is leaving.
“We’ll be back on the air live. I’ve been refueling, so to speak,” Stern told his listeners.
The second reiteration of Stern’s legendary show began in 2006 and was renewed by SiriusXM in 2020. At it’s height, it drew 20 million daily listeners.
Trump and Stern are former friends, having attended each other’s weddings and the two-time president being a frequent guest on the radio show.
Their relationship went south following the radio host’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton for the White House in 2016.
In June 2022, Stern said he wanted to run for president if Trump was the GOP nominee in 2024.
“I’ll beat his ass,” Stern told his listeners at the time.
During the lead up to the Nov. 5, 2024, general election, Stern was one of the rare media personalities to get an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who was the Democratic presidential nominee.
Trump fumed at Stern after the episode aired, claiming he gave Harris softball questions.
“BETA MALE Howard Stern made a fool of himself on his low rated radio show when he ‘interviewed’ Lyin’ Kamala Harris, and hit her with so many SOFTBALL questions that even she was embarrassed,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“He looked like a real fool, working so hard to make a totally incompetent and ill-equipped person look as good as possible, which wasn’t very good,” he added.
Stern endorsed Harris, claiming he would vote for a wall before Trump.
“I don’t even understand how this election is close,” Stern told Harris. “Why do my fellow Americans want this kind of chaos overseas?”
