Before the golden escalators and the "Make America Great Again" hats, Donald Trump was basically the unofficial third co-host of The Howard Stern Show. Honestly, if you grew up in the 90s or early 2000s, you couldn't turn on the radio without hearing that familiar Queens accent bantering with Howard about everything from the Miss Universe pageant to whether or not Angelina Jolie was actually a "ten."
But then 2016 happened. Suddenly, these casual morning radio chats weren't just "guy talk" anymore—they were political dynamite. People started hunting for the Trump Howard Stern interview transcript like it was the Rosetta Stone of his character.
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The relationship between the shock jock and the real estate mogul is weirdly complex. Stern has always been protective of his guests, once famously saying he wouldn't replay the old tapes during the 2016 election because he felt it would be a "betrayal." He argued that Trump was just trying to be an entertainer. Still, the internet is forever. Thousands of pages of transcripts eventually leaked, and they paint a picture that is, well, exactly what you’d expect from two of the biggest egos in New York history.
The Archive That SiriusXM Tried to Hide
For a long time, you couldn't just Google these conversations. SiriusXM actually went after sites like Factba.se with DMCA takedown notices to scrub the audio and the Trump Howard Stern interview transcript archives from the web. They claimed copyright, but many saw it as an attempt to "memory hole" some of the more controversial moments.
Eventually, about 15 hours of audio and corresponding text made it into the public domain. What did we learn?
For starters, Trump was a regular. He appeared over two dozen times between 1993 and 2015. These weren't scripted press releases; they were raw, caffeinated, and often incredibly crude. They talked about his germaphobia—Trump admitted he washes his hands "as many times as possible" and called it a "psychological problem." They talked about the "checkout time" for women (apparently, according to a 2002 clip, that’s age 35).
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It’s easy to forget how much of a "man about town" persona Trump cultivated back then. He wasn't talking to voters; he was talking to Howard’s "Army" of listeners who tuned in for the shock value.
The Most Controversial Moments in the Transcripts
If you dig through the Trump Howard Stern interview transcript archives, a few specific dates stand out because they’ve been cited by everyone from CNN to the New York Times.
1. The "Piece of Ass" Comment (2004)
This is probably the most cited moment. Howard Stern asked Trump if it was okay to refer to his daughter, Ivanka, as a "piece of ass." Trump didn’t push back. He simply replied, "Yeah."
2. Backstage at Beauty Pageants (2005)
Trump famously told Howard that he would go backstage at the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants while the contestants were naked. "I'm allowed to go in because I'm the owner of the pageant and therefore I'm inspecting it," he told Howard. He sort of laughed it off, saying, "I get away with things like that."
3. The Princess Diana Obsession
The transcripts show a recurring theme regarding the late Princess Diana. Shortly after her death in 1997, Trump told Howard he could have "bedded" her. He described her as "supermodel beautiful" but noted that she needed to be "tested" for diseases. It was classic Stern-era Trump—blurring the line between admiration and objectification.
Why the Transcripts Still Matter in 2026
You might think this is old news. Why are people still searching for the Trump Howard Stern interview transcript today?
It’s because these recordings represent the most unfiltered version of Donald Trump we have. In a world of PR-managed social media feeds and teleprompter speeches, the Stern interviews are a time capsule. They show a man who was deeply obsessed with rankings—rating women, rating buildings, rating his own fame.
There's also the "Locker Room Talk" defense. When the Access Hollywood tape leaked in 2016, Trump’s team pointed to his history with Stern to suggest that he was just "playing a character" for a specific audience. Whether you believe that or not usually depends on your politics, but the transcripts provide the context for that defense.
Notable Dates for Your Research:
- November 9, 1995: Trump discusses his lack of service in Vietnam and his work with veterans' charities.
- February 5, 1997: The infamous discussion regarding Alicia Machado and her weight after winning Miss Universe.
- May 10, 2001: A heated on-air fight with gossip columnist A.J. Benza over a girl (Kara Young).
- August 25, 2015: One of the final times the public saw the "old" Trump on the show before the campaign trail changed the dynamic forever.
How to Find the Full Transcripts Now
If you're looking for the actual text, it’s a bit of a cat-and-mouse game. While SiriusXM keeps a tight lid on the official archives, several independent research groups and "fact-base" style websites have preserved the text.
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Searching for the Trump Howard Stern interview transcript on Wayback Machine or specialized political archives is usually your best bet. Just be prepared: these are not polished. They are full of "umms," "ahhs," and the kind of overlapping crosstalk that makes radio great but reading a bit of a headache.
Actionable Takeaways for Researchers:
- Verify the Source: Don't trust "meme" quotes. Always cross-reference the date of the interview with the actual transcript.
- Context is King: A three-sentence snippet often sounds worse (or better) than the full ten-minute conversation.
- Look for the "Why": Most of these interviews were part of a book tour or a promotion for The Apprentice. Trump was selling a brand, and the "shocking" comments were often part of the marketing strategy.
The relationship between Trump and Stern eventually soured. Stern became one of Trump's most vocal critics during his presidency, and the two haven't spoken in years. It’s a wild end to a decades-long friendship that started on the airwaves of 92.3 K-Rock.
To get the full picture of the Trump Howard Stern interview transcript history, start by looking into the Factba.se archives or searching for the specific 2004-2006 "golden era" tapes that shaped the 2016 election cycle.