Donald Trump revealed his true personality and feelings when he appeared on my show, says radio host Howard Stern.
Stern told CNN Money that he was proud of the interviews he's done with the Republican presidential candidate, who appeared on his program numerous times.
"None of this was hidden. This is who Trump is. He was always bombastic. He always rated women. He always talked in a misogynistic, sexist kind of way, but he did it sort of proudly and out in the open; and he still won the Republican primary.
"In one sense, the fact that we do an interview and people's personalities come out, I'm very proud of that," Stern said.
Stern could not have predicted that Trump would actually run for the presidency, telling CNN, "I, certainly, in a million years, didn't expect Trump to seriously run for president. All the times he came on the show he was a very good sport and he was in the spirit of the show.
"He's been very friendly toward me, friendly toward the show, always coming on, so I certainly wasn't going to **** him over by releasing those tapes. Those tapes are out there on the internet anyway, so that was my stance."
CNN's KFile had released clips of Trump's appearances on Stern's show, in which the real-estate mogul made demeaning and sexist comments about women.
Stern praised his interviews, saying that his interview subjects are more genuine when they speak on his show. "I feel proud in the sense that, I don't think anybody else does an interview the way this show does. Everyone, when they interview, is sort of afraid to talk like real people."
Major news outlets are now looking at Stern's interviews "because it's a real conversation."
When Trump announced he was running for president, Stern said he told him that he was supporting Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton because of her views on abortion and immigration.
Stern is not officially releasing tapes of Trump's comments from the show, saying he feels the GOP nominee "did the show in an effort to be entertaining and have fun with us. And I feel like it would be a betrayal to any of our guests if I sat there and played them now where people are attacking him."