Larry King on Friday night said that Donald Trump could not have thought he was giving an interview for King’s podcast because the Republican nominee had given an interview for the podcast somewhat recently.
“I don’t know what Trump knew. He couldn’t have known it was a podcast, because he just did my podcast,” King said on CNN Friday night.
This contradicts the Trump campaign’s explanation for Trump’s appearance on King’s show, which is broadcast on Russia Today (RT), a Russian state-backed television network. The campaign claimed on Friday that they believed the interview was for King’s podcast, and were not aware the interview would air on RT.
King said that he found the focus on Trump’s appearance on his show that airs on RT “amusing.”
King told CNN that Trump was a guest on his podcast about six months ago, and that since then he has been asking Trump to appear on his television show, “PoliticKING With Larry King.”
“I’ve said, ‘You gotta do my TV show,’ he said, ‘I’m working on it, I’m working on it.'” King told CNN about his conversations with Trump.
But King said that the interview for his TV show was set up by his producers, so he’s not sure what they told Trump about the interview.
The production company that makes King’s show, OraTV, said on Friday that Trump was booked for King’s television talk show.
“PoliticKING with Larry King and Larry King Now are produced and owned entirely by Ora Media, LLC., who are solely responsible for its editorial direction,” a spokesperson for OraTV said in a statement. “RT America is one of several dozen companies who license these and other Ora programs for distribution around the world. A visit to www.Ora.tv will provide several examples of our content. Larry King is a part owner in and employee of Ora Media, LLC. and neither he nor his producers are employed by RT America. Mr. Trump was always booked on ‘PoliticKING with Larry King’ for Ora TV.”
King also noted on CNN that OraTV produces the show and merely licenses it to RT. He emphasized that RT does not edit his show or exert any influence over the content of his show.
“I have never been told what to ask or not to ask,” he told CNN.
