The California dentist who went viral for joking about giving patients worse care if they aren’t Trump supporters is speaking out in her defense.
The video of Dr. Harleen Grewal at a Santa Clarita Republican Party meeting is actually two years old, ABC 7 Los Angeles reported on Friday. In the clip, she tells the crowd that she owns a MAGA-style hat reading, “Make Your Smile Great Again.”
“So I wear that when I work on my patients, so when they look horrified or complain, I quietly cut back on the laughing gas,” Grewal joked.
When the news outlet visited her practice this week, Grewal said she had recently been investigated and cleared by the California Dental Board, which found no wrongdoing despite concerns raised over her joke. PEOPLE could not independently verify this statement.
“They asked me if I said that, and I said, ‘Yes, I said it in one of my roasting speeches at a women’s Republican group,’” she said. “Just like the Democrats, they make jokes too. We make jokes as well. Why can’t we just take a joke lightheartedly?”
“But that was taken to cancel me,” Grewal added. “The dental board investigated, cleared it, and said there was nothing they could find that proved any of that.”
The MAGA hat has become an iconic symbol of Trump’s presidency and his supporters, with the White House now dedicating a section of the West Wing to Trump-themed merchandise.
In addition to the classic “Make America Great Again” hat, supporters can also purchase hats reading “Trump Was Right About Everything” and “Trump 2028,” underscoring the president’s pledge to seek a third term despite constitutional limits.
The display was first noticed in the background of a video when Trump welcomed Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to the White House on Aug. 9. It gained viral attention after the White House hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders on Aug. 18.
Margo Martin, Trump’s special assistant and communications adviser, shared a photo on X showing the president presenting Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron with a red baseball cap reading “4 More Years,” despite the constitutional amendment that bars Trump from serving past January 2029.
