Donald Trump made waves on Jimmy Kimmel Live before he even stepped onstage. Slated musical guests Belly and the Weeknd both cancelled rather than share a screen with the presumptive Republican nominee, the AP reports.
"I feel like the way I was raised was to be able to see through all the titles in this world — from religion to race," Belly said in a statement. "I just didn't want to feel like I was a part of a celebration for somebody who has beliefs that majority of us don't agree with."
Trump wasn’t so shy about making an appearance, even despite protesters lining Hollywood Boulevard to protest his booking.
Protesters outside of Jimmy Kimmel show, where Trump is soon set to tape an interview pic.twitter.com/H7nclF7SOx
— Ashley Killough (@KilloughCNN) May 25, 2016
Of course, Trump wasn't exactly shying away from controversy during his appearance. Kimmel didn't play total softball with the candidate, asking him about past compliments he had paid to Hillary Clinton and husband Bill.
"She’s wonderful, the husband, everybody’s wonderful including contributions," Trump joked.
"So you were full of shit?" Kimmel said.
"A little bit," Trump said, laughing.
Trump also spoke about Bernie Sanders, the other Democratic nominee.
"If I debated him we would have such high ratings,” Trump told Kimmel. "If he paid a sum to charity I would love to do that." He added that he "enjoys watching" the Democratic candidates during their still-contentious primary process. "It's getting nasty. I had no idea it was gonna be so nasty."
Kimmel asked Trump about the bonkers story in which allegedly Trump posed as his own publicist, Trump offered a conditional denial.
"It didn’t sound like me," Trump said. But continue, "I’ve used aliases. I would use Barron,” his 10-year-old son's name. "I made a very good deal using that name."