Trump and Rivers crossed paths in 2009 when she appeared on ‘The Celebrity Apprentice’

Donald Trump recently made a surprising claim that the late comedian Joan Rivers voted for him in the 2016 presidential election. However, this statement raised eyebrows because Rivers passed away in September 2014, more than two years before the election.

Journalist Ramin Setoodeh discussed this intriguing topic with Trump while interviewing him for the book “Apprentice in Wonderland.” During their conversation about Celebrity Apprentice, Setoodeh brought up Rivers’ political beliefs.

“Joan said she was a Republican, did you know that?” Setoodeh asked Trump.

Trump responded, “I thought she might have been a Republican. I know one thing: she voted for me, according to what she said.”

When PEOPLE reached out to Trump’s spokesperson for clarification on this puzzling remark, no immediate response was given.

Trump and Rivers had a memorable encounter when she, along with her daughter Melissa, participated in Celebrity Apprentice back in 2009. Melissa was eliminated on the ninth episode of the season, while Joan went on to win the entire competition. Trump reminisced, mentioning, “Joan was so angry. She went crazy when I fired the daughter.”

He continued, “Joan loved Melissa more than anything she’s ever loved before. She thought Melissa was the end-all, and she went totally crazy in defense of her daughter. Oh, they were both yelling. It was great TV. But maybe Joan had more of a right to be yelling.”

Setoodeh, who spoke with Trump several times for his book, mentioned on MSNBC that Trump had “severe memory issues.”

“As the journalist who spent the most time with him, I have to say, he couldn’t remember things. He couldn’t even remember me,” Setoodeh noted.

However, a spokesperson for Trump countered these claims in a statement, asserting, “President Trump was aware of who this individual was throughout the interview process, but this ‘writer’ is a nobody and insignificant so of course, he never made an impression.”

Setoodeh’s book “Apprentice in Wonderland” delves into Trump’s journey from his days on The Apprentice to his tenure as the 45th president of the United States. The book is packed with eye-opening revelations about Trump, shedding light on the reality competition series’ behind-the-scenes dynamics.

Among the surprising details in the book, it was revealed that Trump requested a whopping $6 million per episode for The Apprentice. Additionally, it was noted that he had an unusual preoccupation with contestant Jennifer Murphy.