A Career Built on Bold Interviews
Long before she became known for her work in mental health advocacy, Ruby Wax built her name as a fearless celebrity interviewer. Back in the early '90s, she hosted a hit interview series that put her in the room with some of the era's most talked-about public figures, from Sarah Ferguson to Bill Cosby. Wax had a knack for getting people to drop their guard, which made for must-watch television.
But out of everyone she's ever interviewed, it's her sit-down with Donald Trump in June 2000 that seems to have left the deepest mark and not in a good way.
Trapped in a Limo With "The Donald"
At the time, Trump was flirting with a presidential run under the Reform Party banner. Wax joined him for what should have been a straightforward interview, but things took an uncomfortable turn once they were riding together in his limousine. According to Wax, Trump launched into graphic descriptions of his attitude toward women, including comments about threesomes, seemingly trying to shock her.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph years later, Wax didn't mince words about how unpleasant the experience was, saying Trump appeared to be deliberately trying to unsettle her with his talk about how he treats women.
Instead of shutting down or walking away, Wax made a split-second decision: she'd match his energy. She began inventing her own outlandish stories about her love life, essentially playing his game right back at him. It seemed to earn his respect literally, as he reportedly told her so. But Wax later admitted the bravado was a front. Internally, she says she was terrified, comparing herself to a cornered mouse being batted around by a much bigger predator.
An Unflattering Introduction
Trump didn't exactly extend a warm welcome, either. Before the cameras even started rolling, he introduced Wax to the people around him by dismissively calling her the "world's most obnoxious reporter" from the BBC, adding that she "means nothing" in the United States, despite acknowledging she was well known back in Britain.
Wax herself sensed early on that the meeting was off to a rocky start. She recalled boarding Trump's private jet and immediately feeling like the two of them simply weren't going to click. Before the interview could even begin, Trump insisted the BBC crew cut the cameras so he could touch up his makeup.
Looking back, Wax has called it one of the most gruelling stretches of her entire career not because Trump did anything overtly wrong in that moment, she says, but because she had a gut feeling things were only going to get more awkward from there.
Beauty Pageants, Private Jets, and Flirtation
During their conversation, Trump who at the time owned the Miss USA pageant described the competition as a chance to look at attractive women while turning a profit. In a strange aside during the broader special, one pageant contestant was asked whether she'd date Trump and declined, joking that he was "80" (he was actually 54).
Wax pressed him on why someone already living such a charmed life private jets, luxury, fame would even want the headache of running for president. Trump's answer veered into an odd pitch about fiscal responsibility, claiming that because he already owned a plane, the country wouldn't need to spend money on Air Force One if he were elected. He then pivoted to complimenting Wax directly, calling her "a very attractive woman" and insisting that he respects and admires women.
The Trump-Melania Connection
Trump ended up dropping out of the Reform Party race just months after the interview aired, later throwing his support behind Democratic congressman Edolphus Towns. Photos from the Clinton Presidential Library even show Trump alongside his then-girlfriend, Melania, mingling with Bill Clinton at a fundraiser for Towns.
Wax, seemingly sensing where things were headed, made a point of introducing Melania to viewers during the special describing her as one of the most successful models to ever come out of Slovenia and noting the noticeable age gap between her and Trump, who also happened to run the modeling agency that represented her.
By the end of the program, a title card informed audiences that Trump and Melania had split. As history would show, that breakup didn't last the two eventually reconciled, married, and went on to become one of the most recognizable couples in American politics.
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