Kathy Griffin Doubles Down on Donald Trump Odor

Kathy Griffin once said that former President Donald Trump smelled "really bad" when she appeared on The Apprentice over a decade ago—and now she's doubling down on this claim.

The comedian has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump for years and in 2017, she notably faced relentless backlash when she posed with the severed head of an effigy of the then-president.

Before rising to prominence in politics, real estate tycoon Donald Trump hosted and co-produced NBC's The Apprentice, where he judged the business acumen of dozens of contestants between 2004 and 2015. While Griffin was never a contestant on the show, she did make two appearances in the series. She eventually posted about her experience on the show to X, formerly Twitter.

"Oh, God, I was never [a] contestant," she wrote in a post which was viewed by Newsweek at the time. "However, I did participate in two challenges. One I did because of my dear departed, beloved Joan Rivers. The other one I did because Trump paid me a bunch of money to spend the day with Liza Minnelli and host a challenge. Liza and I tried to ignore him, but he does smell really bad."

Now Griffin has brought up Trump's odor once again, this time during an appearance on Mary Trump's podcast, The Mary Trump Show. Mary Trump is an American psychologist and writer. She is also the niece of the former president and has been critical of him as well as the rest of the Trump family.

"Donald has a distinct smell that doesn't really get enough press. It's like body odor with kind of like a scented, makeup product—you can smell the hair products even outdoors," she said, which caused Mary Trump to cringe.

Griffin then reposted a video of her saying these comments to X, formerly Twitter, and added: "I went easy on him," alongside a vomit emoji.

Newsweek reached out to representatives for Griffin and Trump for comment via email on Wednesday.

Griffin isn't the only one who's spoken about Donald Trump's alleged odor. According to CNN senior political commentator and former GOP congressman Adam Kinzinger, the business mogul's smell is "truly something to behold."

"I'm genuinely surprised how people close to Trump haven't talked about the odor," he posted to X on December 16, advising his followers to "wear a mask" in Donald Trump's presence.

The accusation went viral, receiving over 3.6 million views in 48 hours and sparked jokes about the former president. Griffin even responded to Kinzinger's post, writing: "Yep. Can confirm."

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung rubbished the claims and previously told Newsweek that "Adam Kinzinger farted on live TV and is an unemployed fraud." He added: "[Kinzinger] has disgraced his country and disrespects everyone around him[...]he is a sad individual who is mad about how his miserable life has turned out."

However, the #TrumpStinksnhashtag emerged and became the top trending topic on X in the U.S. on Friday. One account wrote that Trump faces new "Reeko" charges, a reference to the 13 charges the former president faces in Georgia, including violating the state's anti-racketeering law (RICO). He denies all the charges.

It doesn't end there, as The Lincoln Project—a political advocacy group composed of Republicans who oppose Donald Trump—dropped a new ad that also mocks the former president over his alleged bad smell.

The ad opens with a series of images of landfill, manure and trash bags before showing a shot of Trump Tower. People can be heard sniffing and coughing, as Griffin is heard explaining how Trump has "a distinct smell."

The sound of buzzing flies is also heard throughout the ad, which ends with a woman asking: "Donald, is that you?" When The Lincoln Project posted the ad to X on Saturday, it added the caption: "Is that you Donald? #TrumpSmells."

While Griffin now feels like she's "un-canceled," she previously said that her decision to pose with a severed head styled to resemble the former president damaged her career.

Donald Trump himself was a prominent voice in the backlash against Griffin, writing on Twitter back in 2017: "Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11-year-old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick."

The gory image, which was taken by celebrity photographer Tyler Shields, sparked a widespread outcry, leading to comedian Griffin issuing a public apology.

"I sincerely apologize," she said in a video posted to social media in May 2017. "I am just now seeing the reaction of these images... I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people. It wasn't funny. I get it."

She later retracted her apology, saying during an appearance on ABC's The View in 2018: "I take the apology back. F*** him... I'm not holding back on this family. This family is different. I've been through the mill."