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Geraldo Rivera Explains Creepy Donald Trump-Themed ‘DWTS’ Salsa

By Victoria Miller
Published on: 05:13 PST, Mar 29, 2016

Geraldo Rivera’s Dancing With the Stars days are done, but the TV news journalist tried to campaign for votes for his final dance on Monday night. After Rivera and his partner Edyta Sliwinska became the first couple eliminated on the 22nd edition of the celebrity ballroom competition, the duo spoke to Good Morning America about their short-lived stint on the show. Geraldo also revealed how he came up with the idea for his Latin Night salsa. For the dance, Rivera portrayed his former Celebrity Apprentice boss Donald Trump, and Edyta played the real estate mogul’s wife, Melania.

“Well, we had the idea because [Edyta] makes a smashing [Melania Trump], doesn’t she? And, you know, I’ve known Donald forever. [Talk] was all about the wives in the last week. It went from body parts to whose wife is hotter. And as we got closer to the show, the idea evolved to kind of spoof that, to bring it down to earth and deflate that as a political issue.”

Rivera, 72, wore a really bad, Trump-like wig and orange-tinted face makeup for the performance, which began in an Oval Office, where GOP hopeful Trump had clearly won the presidential election. Edyta wore a long fur coat as she interrupted “Trump’s” important phone call to Russian president Vladimir Putin by lounging on the desk. The duo then jumped from the desk and launched into a salsa set in Mexico.

But the Dancing with the Stars judges didn’t give the dance high marks. Geraldo and Edyta scored a lowly 13 out of 30 points, and DWTS judge Carrie Ann Inaba told them that while the routine was entertaining, they did “not make dance great again,” which was clearly a play on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. Even worse, head judge Len Goodman described the unfortunate dance as “trumpery,” which means “showy but worthless.” Oh my.

Geraldo Rivera was pretty hard on himself as he said he “stunk up the place” again. He even said if he wasn’t eliminated this week, he would demand a recount.

Rivera later told GMA that his 10-year-old daughter, who was seated in the DWTS audience, was more upset than he was about his elimination.

“When we were eliminated, my 10-year-old was in the audience with her mom… [She] started sobbing and the one person who could console her was Von Miller, the Super Bowl MVP. This gigantic man came walking over and she calmed down immediately. It was a touching thing.”

Geraldo was vocal about his lack of dancing skills throughout his short DWTS run. He took to social media to slam himself for his horrible skills, and he said Edyta, who returned to DWTS after more than a 10-season hiatus, deserved so much better.

“It was a lot of fun. I wish I could dance better, mainly for Edyta. She’s the most superb dancer. She deserved a much better partner, a much more skilled partner. She’s so patient and so, so charismatic and wonderfully supportive.”

In fact, Geraldo had nothing but rave reviews for his pro partner, and he later told E! News that he “let her down.” Rivera, who has had a knee replacement and is dealing with a bad foot, also advised baby boomers to get up and shake their bodies before it’s too late. Geraldo said his message to the older DWTS audience was to use it or lose it, and if nothing else, he definitely got that point across.

Take a look at the video below to see Geraldo Rivera’s salsa on Dancing With the Stars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRm8QJx-gfg

[Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Cantor Fitzgerald]

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