'That's flat out lying': Donald Trump mocked for claiming Joan Rivers voted for him in 2016 despite talk show host's demise in 2014

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: Donald Trump told Variety Co-Editor-in-Chief Ramin Setoodeh who interviewed the embattled ex-President several times for his book, ‘Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass,’ that comedian and talk-show host Joan Rivers voted for him in 2016, even though Rivers died in 2014.

The book was released on Tuesday, June 18, and it explores the real estate magnate's tenure hosting NBC’s reality TV show ‘The Apprentice'.

Joan Rivers won Season 2 of the spin-off show, ‘Celebrity Apprentice', in 2009. In the book, Trump speculates that he thought the Daytime Emmy winner "might have been a Republican," as per Newsweek.

What did Donald Trump say regarding Joan Rivers in the recently released book?

"I know one thing: she voted for me, according to what she said," Trump claimed in 'Apprentice in Wonderland'.

In 2014, Joan Rivers passed away at the age of 81 following a standard surgical procedure. It wasn't until November 2016 that Trump was elected.

On Wednesday, during an appearance on CNN's ‘The Source', Setoodeh said he'd "interviewed Trump more than any other journalist since he'd left the White House."

"He confidently told me and declared that Joan Rivers voted for him when he ran for President, and Joan Rivers died in 2014, so she would not have been able to vote for Donald Trump," Setoodeh told host Kaitlin Collins.

Starting in May 2021, Setoodeh conducted six interviews with the MAGA strongman, describing the process as "challenging," with the 78-year-old's recollections being "meandering and confusing."

Setoodeh said of Trump, "He goes from one story to the next, he struggles with the chronology of events."

"He seems very upset that he wasn't respected by certain celebrities in the White House, and then he'd go to a story about The Apprentice," he added.

"There were some cognitive questions about where he was and what he was thinking," Setoodeh continued. "He would from time to time become confused."

Steven Cheung, Trump's communications director, responded to Setoodeh’s allegations against the former POTUS, saying, "This is nothing more than Fake News being peddled by those who suffer from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. Biden and his loser cronies should stop using cheap fakes to gaslight the American people."

Internet mocks Donald Trump for claiming Joan Rivers voted for him in 2016

One X user remarked, "Trump confidently claiming Joan Rivers, who died in 2014, voted for him in 2016? Sounds like there's more than a few loose screws. It's time for him to retire the campaign trail, and focus on reality behind bars…he’s got to pay for his felonies."

Another user suggested, "Republicans need to find a new candidate. Trump should step aside. It's the right thing to do."

Another user said, "I’m surprised Joan Rivera didn’t come back from the dead to dispute that foul slur."

One X user claimed, "That's not cognitive decline that's flat out lying."

Another user quipped, "Trump has said all along that dead people have been voting. I guess he was right."

A user tweeted, "Trump’s memory differs from reality! Joan Rivers did not vote for him, unless it was from her grave! Many will believe him without noting the true dates."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.