Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Rachel Maddow Left Speechless By Trump's Deposition Fearing He 'Can Get Killed' By Flying Fruit

Rachel Maddow Left Speechless By Trump's Deposition Fearing He 'Can Get Killed' By Flying Fruit
MSNBC; Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A 2021 deposition by former Republican President Donald Trump was made public via court filings Tuesday.

Like most Trump depositions, many things he said were a bit bizarre.


So much so they left even MSNBC's notoriously verbose Rachel Maddow utterly speechless.

Maddow gave a reading of certain passages of the deposition on Wednesday's edition of The Rachel Maddow Show. She was rendered gobsmacked by the moment Trump said he fears he will "get killed" by flying fruit—yes you read that right.

See the moment below.

youtu.be

The deposition stems from a 2015 civil suit filed by five activists who claim they were violently attacked by Trump's security guards outside Trump Tower.

Part of Trump's defense seems to be the claim that violence against protestors was necessary because they were trying to kill him with thrown tomatoes.

If your head is spinning, you're not alone—it made little more sense to Maddow and she's presumably read the entire deposition. She began her segment with an utterly bewildered intro that itself is comedy gold.

Maddow said:

“I’m going to jump right in here tonight.
"I do not think there is any way to ease into this.
"I don’t think there is any setup I can give you that would make this any more normal."
"No context I can provide you that would make this less weird."

She then hit us with the news about Trump's apparent deepest fear—produce.

“With the release of this deposition in this past day, we now know a whole new thing we didn’t know before about former President Trump, which is that he is apparently desperately afraid of a flying tomato."

And lest you think this is just a case of liberal sour grapes (sorry), here's what Trump actually said:

"Well, a tomato, a pineapple, a lot of other things they throw..."
"Yeah, I think that they have to be aggressive in stopping that from happening. Because if that happens, you can be killed if that happens..."

The questioning attorney asked Trump to clarify by "be aggressive" he meant he thought physical force was required to deal with the constantly looming mortal threat of protesters throwing pineapples.

Trump replied:

“To stop somebody from throwing pineapples, bananas, tomatoes, stuff like that, yeah, it's dangerous stuff."

Maddow, speaking for all of us, could do nothing but simple stare blankly into the camera and stammer:

"I am not smart enough to make something like this up."

Naturally, Twitter has had a field day about this supposed epidemic of murderous, tomato, pineapple or banana throwing liberals.

For many people a moment from Monty Pythons Flying Circus came to mind where John Cleese taught the other members how to defend against dangerous fruit attacks.

Monty Python founding member Eric Idle even retweeted the reference.

@EricIdle/Twitter


Others found humor in other aspects of the absurd deposition.








Deadly produce is not Trump's only food-based fear.

In 2020, he told Fox News' Laura Ingraham that Antifa protesters had been hurling "big bags of soup" at law enforcement.

More from People/donald-trump

Donald Trump
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

People Bring Receipts After White House Claims Photo Of Trump Asleep During Oval Office Event Was Just Him 'Blinking'

After President Donald Trump appeared to fall asleep during an event on maternal health in the Oval Office on Monday, people brought the receipts when an official White House account claimed he was simply "blinking."

The event was used to launch moms.gov, a new federal resource hub focused on prenatal care, nutrition, and postpartum support, along with information on employer fertility benefits and expanded childcare options, including assistance for stay-at-home parents.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dr. Mehmet Oz
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Dr. Oz Just Made An Alarming Comment About Fertility Rates That Sounds Straight Out Of 'The Handmaid's Tale'

Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump's administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, made an alarming comment about fertility rates, declaring that 1 in 3 Americans are "under-babied."

In the United States, infertility affects roughly 9% of men and 11% of women, while globally the figure is estimated at about one in six people.

Keep ReadingShow less
Stephen King; Donald Trump
Mathew Tsang/Getty Images; Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Stephen King Just Said What We're All Thinking After Trump Admin Released First Batch Of UFO Files

Horror icon Stephen King said what is on everyone's mind after President Donald Trump's administration released the first batch of files related to UFO sightings.

Earlier this year, Trump issued an order to different agencies to "begin the process of identifying and releasing government files on aliens and extraterrestrial life."

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump Jr.; Donald Trump
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Don Jr.'s Old Tweet Praising His Father For Avoiding War With Iran Just Resurfaced—And It's Aged Like Milk

As President Donald Trump's war with Iran rages on, his son Donald Trump Jr. is facing criticism after an old tweet he wrote praising his father for avoiding war with Iran resurfaced.

Back in April 2024, the president's eldest son wrote the following on X:

Keep ReadingShow less
Images of Savannah and Nancy Guthrie
@savannahguthrie/Instagram

Savannah Guthrie Shares Heartfelt Video Of Her Missing Mom On Mother's Day: 'We Miss You With Every Breath'

Today co-host Savannah Guthrie's mother, 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, was declared missing on February 1, 2026, after she did not routinely arrive at church that morning, and a well-check confirmed that her home was empty and the door was left wide open.

Due to her need for multiple medications, including for her pacemaker, and her limited mobility, the Pima County Police Department deemed her case a high priority, soon welcoming the help of the FBI.

Keep ReadingShow less