Elizabeth Warren received a career boost with repeated appearances on Dr. Phil

Los Angeles Times

The Democratic presidential candidate appeared three times on Phil McGraw's daytime talk show between 2003 and 2005. Warren, then a Harvard law professor, left such an impression that Dr. Phil wrote a recommendation to President Obama in 2010 urging her appointment to the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which she helped create. “I am such a fan," he wrote, adding: “We are so like-minded!” Warren didn't get the job, but her Dr. Phil appearances paved the way to other TV appearances, including The Daily Show. “I didn’t know if I’d be any good at all, but I knew that if I didn’t try, I wouldn’t have a chance to reach Dr. Phil’s audience,” Warren told the Los Angeles Times last week. “I was game to give it my all.” As the Times' Noah Bierman notes, "Warren’s early embrace of TV is also one of the rare qualities she shares with President Trump, who was a reality TV ratings king on The Apprentice. Both developed a public profile before seeking elected office." Interestingly, Dr. Phil is taped at Paramount Studios' Stage 29 -- the former home of The Arsenio Hall Show, which played an important role in Bill Clinton's presidential campaign.