Serena Williams has refused to address her relationship with former president Donald Trump even after she was revealed to be on his frequent call list in testimony at his criminal trial.
Williams, 42, ended her tennis career just under two years ago and is considered by many as the greatest player of all time. In an interview, published on Saturday by The New York Times, Williams was asked about being one of Trump’s contacts.
“I mean, is this what this interview is about?” she responded to reporter, David Marchese.
“When somebody has a chance to talk to a president, I’m curious what they talked about,” Marchese replied.
“I talk to a lot of presidents. I spoke to Barack, I spoke to the Clintons. I spoke to every president since I’ve been alive, including Ronald Reagan, I’ll have you know,” Williams shot back.
“What do you think they’re looking for in talking to you? What do they want to know?” the reporter asked.
“I don’t know, I’m not going to go there,” Williams said.
Trump was convicted on all 34 felony counts at his hush money trial last month. The charges stem from a payment shortly before the 2016 election to adult actor, Stormy Daniels, who alleged she had an affair with Trump in 2006. Trump was convicted of having falsified business records to cover up the payment to keep her quiet.
Williams was dragged into Trump’s trial when a former aide revealed that she was part of a group of people that Trump spoke to “frequently” in early 2017 when he entered the White House.
Madeleine Westerhout, former executive assistant to Trump at the White House, took the stand in May. As she testified, prosecutors showed emails between Westerhout and Rhona Graff, a Trump Organization employee.
“Could you have the girls put together a list for me of people that he frequently spoke to? I don’t want to have to bug you all the time – even though I will still call often :)” Westerhout wrote to Graff on 24 January 2017, four days after Trump’s inauguration.
Graff soon sent an Excel spreadsheet of those that Trump often spoke to with Williams on that list.
Others mentioned included Trump family members; his former fixer Michael Cohen, who testified against him at the trial; and former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg. Former and current cable news hosts Bill O’Reilly, Jeanine Pirro, and Joe Scarborough were also on the list.
Williams is reported to have let Trump score a point when they played each other in April 2015 during celebrations for a new tennis center at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. That summer, Trump announced his first run for president.