Stephen Colbert asked Judge Judy about getting paid by Trump — her reply was an instant TV classic

Multiple judges have gained celebrity status owing to the popularity of shows that feature courtrooms and proceedings with some emotional moments. Judy Sheindlin has been one of the most iconic among them owing to her no-nonsense approach. Fans got to see how she wasn't any different in reality when she appeared on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" eight years ago. She also revealed her views on Donald Trump and his presidential campaign.

Wise Words From the Book of "Judyism"

In the interview with Colbert fans finally saw Juge Judy in a more relaxed avatar, which was different from the way she is in courtrooms. Speaking on her approach, she said, "My grandmother used to say, 'What's in your lung is what's on your tongue.'" She explained that she believes when someone tells the truth all the time, they don't need to have a good memory. 

After a quick chat, Colbert brought up the trending topic of the time, Donald Trump's campaign for the presidency. At the time, Trump was about to be nominated as the candidate of the Republican Party for the first time before the 2016 elections. Colbert asked Sheindlin whether she thinks Trump had taken notes from her as he had the same direct approach.

"Well, that and some," she quipped in response. Colbert then asked her if she would consider becoming the running mate and the vice president alongside the Republican. This is when Sheindlin responded with the perfect answer.

"It Doesn't Pay Enough"

Sheindling started by saying that she wouldn't be the best candidate to join Trump. "It would be nice if he would run with someone who had good experience with government as a running mate," she said.

She then went on to add that she was pretty comfortable with what she had. "Quite frankly, I don't. I know the family court, I know my little television courtroom, and I'm too old, and I don't like to work so hard. And it doesn't pay enough too."

The host also added that she wouldn't want to take a pay cut for the job of the vice president, who doesn't have much power anyway. "And it's so boring," Colbert said. 

While some would wonder if Sheindlin's assessment was right, the numbers suggest that it was. At the time, she was one of the highest-paid TV personalities with a multi-million dollar net worth. 

Sheindlin's popular daytime court show made her hundreds of millions of dollars. According to Forbes, she received a salary of $47 million per year from 2012 to 2020, for hosting the show. She was named the highest-paid TV host by Forbes in 2018, after she sold the rights to her 5,200-episode library, plus future episodes, to CBS for about $100 million.

After 25 years, when her show ended in 2021 Sheindlin signed another contract with Amazon to create a new show "Judy Justice" that is aired on Amazon's Freevee.

According to estimates from the New York Times, she was paid about $25 million for the taping of the first 120 episodes of her new show.