Kathy Griffin in the house tromping Trump

LGBT Weekly writer Tom Andrew landed a very special interview with the Emmy and Grammy Award-winning comedian who is ready to tromp on Trump as she brings her tour to California Center for the Arts, Escondido for one night only on Saturday Sept. 10! Printed by permission at The Grapevine. For more, and other interesting stories, visit LGBT Weekly.

It is probably safe to say that most people in the gay community have a special place in their hearts for Ms. Kathy Griffin.

You have undoubtedly either seen her on her two time Emmy Award-winning Bravo reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List(2005–2010), or maybe it was the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan (with Brooke Shields), or maybe you’ve caught her bringing in the New Year with Anderson Cooper or maybe you’ve been living under a rock and now is the time to catch her at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido for one night only!

Kathy will bring her tour to Escondido Sept. 10 for a fun-filled evening that will most surely include jokes about out current political situation, and if you know Ms. Griffin you know she never holds back.

The fabulous Kathy G.

She even had an opinion about how this interview was to be done.

“I insist that interviews be recorded because then jokes are in context,” Griffin said. “And by the way when I say jokes I do not mean LGBT members asserting their Second Amendment rights with Second Amendment people and obviously clearly trying to assassinate my Hilary Clinton. So let me just say before I lunge right into my Donald Trump material, this fool is trying to get my Hillary killed.”

There was no easing into the topic, it was the first thing she wanted to talk about and talk she did.

While she was more than ready to let loose on The Donald, or as Rosie O’Donnell likes to call him, Lord Voldermort, she stopped for a brief moment to compliment the LGBT Weekly Web site.

“I’m not gonna hold back with you,” Griffin promised. “I mean, please. First of all, lemme just say I’m actually obsessed with your [LGBT Weekly] Web site I think it’s like, honestly, I’m gonna make it my new screensaver because it honestly has everything a gay person could want! There’s an ad for Dolly tickets at the top, there’s a gay Olympian who should be the, I think you guys want him on the $10 bill or something. It literally has everything you could want. It’s like a one stop shopping for LGBT folks anywhere, much less the San Diego area and I’m not even kidding. I think it’s actually an awesome hub, site, whatever you guys wanna call it. I even like the font!”

Then it was right down to Trump business!

“So what do you wanna know about Trump?” Griffin said. “Let me tell you something … I have Trump stories that I have been sitting on for years, because nobody cared about Donald Trump in my act, ya know?”

How many years wasn’t actually discussed, but it was clear that given the current political race, she is ready to have a ball dishing about Trump during her show here; a show she’s hoping will be seen by many.

“I’m on this tour,” Griffin said. “I’m winding down my current tour, which is cool so I hope people come to see me cuz I’m winding down my 80 city Like A Boss Tour … 80 cities in one year… 80! So don’t talk to me FOX News about the real America! FOX News has nothing on me.”

And while she’s not in the political race herself, she feels her tour more than makes up for that.

“I’m really going … I feel I’m actually campaigning along with Hillary,” Griffin stated. “Like, I’ve done everything from Minneapolis Orchestra Hall to kick off Pride Week, which was fantastic, to then two nights later bombing in a casino in Pottawattamie, Wisconsin. This has been an abnormal weekend for me, one night I could be getting a standing ovation, and you know I mean on this tour I’ve honestly done everything from Carnegie, to the Sydney Opera house, to Kennedy Center and just so you know I can still have a night like two nights ago after a standing ovation. I’m just bombing in fucking Pottawattamie, Wisconsin! It’s like ugh, really?”

But she takes that with a grain of salt knowing that’s just how the biz works.

“Just so you know I’m always humble unlike Donald Trump!” Griffin added. “So, to circle back, I have kickass Donald Trump stories because I’ve known this fool, I mean I don’t know him well but I’ve run into this fool for years. Now, I’m able to reveal them to the world at just the right time because now people are actually like, do you know him? And I’m like, oh I don’t just know him I’ve had several, several run-ins with him over the years that now are seeing the light of day and they’re amazing.”

Most of the times Griffin has spent with the Republican presidential candidate, were years ago when no one imagined the reality star and self-made millionaire would ever think of running for office.

“I mean, I sat next to him one time at this like three hour tribute event for Larry King,” Griffin confided. “And, one of my many LGBT besties Suzy Orman took a picture of me sitting next to Donald Trump and she’s like holding it hostage like if I ever piss her off. She’s gonna be like ‘I’ve got a picture of you looking chummy with Donald Trump, girlfriend’. Don’t you use your gay collateral against me lady.”

Dinner and a picture is one thing but she even has a story about spending a full day with Trump.

“I like have a story about spending the day, I mean seriously, and I’m kind of, I’m giving away a little bit of the joke except it’s true and I promise if you come to the show there’s like a full 15 minute story about this. I have a story that is, now that we know what we know about this freak, is epic. That’s when I spent a day with The Donald and his ridiculousness at one of his golf clubs, which now I don’t who fuckin’ subsides those, but anyway Donald roped me into doing, of course, a charity gig for him. Because ya know, everyone else can work for free while he makes money, but he roped me into doing a charity gig. But I have an unbelievable story about spending the day with Donald Trump and Liza Minelli. Yeah it’s epic. I’m not even kidding like this story happened several years ago and I just thought ya know it’s like a story.”

Google Maps marks the spot.

It’s clear the comedienne has seen a shift in what it is that audiences want to hear.

“I like how crazy Donald Trump is,” Griffin said. “But, people who come to my shows, you know, they wanna hear about Cher or they wanna to hear about Anderson Cooper, who cares about Donald Trump. But now it’s like everybody, and I’m loving just whipping out every Donald Trump story that I have from over the years and finally they matter dammit! Words matter and I’m just saying all of my encounters with him, have truly been off camera, so I can confirm that he really is like that …”

Even after the many run-ins, dinners and outings Griffin has had with Trump, there are still things the comedienne is just learning about the man.

“I didn’t know about the Birther stuff,” Griffin said. “Like seriously, I didn’t know he, I didn’t know he thought that the president wasn’t legitimate and stuff. Like an honestly eccentric, annoying guy. I didn’t know he was like this like potentially Hitlerian figure, ya know? The good thing is I got some good dirt on him … you know me, I love to sling it to an audience!”

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Griffin has plenty more in store for her show which is only days away.

For tickets call 800-988-4253, or buy them online at http://artcenter.org/event/kathy-griffin/