JERSEY CITY, New Jersey: Donald Trump says he made “a lot of money” in a deal years ago with Muammar Qaddafi, despite suggesting at the time he had no idea the former Libyan dictator was involved in renting his suburban New York estate.
“Don’t forget, I’m the only one. I made a lot of money with Qaddafi, if you remember,” Trump said in an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” that aired Sunday. “He came to the country, and he had to make a deal with me because he needed a place to stay.”
“He paid me a fortune. Never got to stay there,” Trump said. “And it became sort of a big joke.”
The presumptive Republican nominee was talking about a bizarre incident in 2009, when Qaddafi was in desperate search of a place to pitch his Bedouin-style tent during a visit to New York for a meeting of the UN General Assembly.
After trying and failing to secure space in Manhattan’s Central Park, on the Upper East Side and in Englewood, New Jersey, the Libyan government turned to Trump’s 213-acre Seven Springs estate in suburban Bedford, New York.
Qaddafi never stayed at the property, but it was nevertheless a spectacle. Reporters flocked to the town to watch construction crews erect a white-topped tent that was lined with a tapestry of camels and palm trees and outfitted with leather couches and coffee tables.
Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not respond to questions Sunday about whether Trump was aware at the time that he was dealing with Qaddafi and how much he made from the deal.
Bedford Town Attorney Joel Sachs, who dealt with Trump directly on the issue, said that Trump insisted to town officials that he didn’t know about the Qaddafi connection — and that officials suspected he was lying.
“We believe that Trump knew that he had leased his property to Qaddafi,” Sachs said. “He definitely denied that he knew, but we had gotten a lot of evidence.”
“Don’t forget, I’m the only one. I made a lot of money with Qaddafi, if you remember,” Trump said in an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” that aired Sunday. “He came to the country, and he had to make a deal with me because he needed a place to stay.”
“He paid me a fortune. Never got to stay there,” Trump said. “And it became sort of a big joke.”
The presumptive Republican nominee was talking about a bizarre incident in 2009, when Qaddafi was in desperate search of a place to pitch his Bedouin-style tent during a visit to New York for a meeting of the UN General Assembly.
After trying and failing to secure space in Manhattan’s Central Park, on the Upper East Side and in Englewood, New Jersey, the Libyan government turned to Trump’s 213-acre Seven Springs estate in suburban Bedford, New York.
Qaddafi never stayed at the property, but it was nevertheless a spectacle. Reporters flocked to the town to watch construction crews erect a white-topped tent that was lined with a tapestry of camels and palm trees and outfitted with leather couches and coffee tables.
Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not respond to questions Sunday about whether Trump was aware at the time that he was dealing with Qaddafi and how much he made from the deal.
Bedford Town Attorney Joel Sachs, who dealt with Trump directly on the issue, said that Trump insisted to town officials that he didn’t know about the Qaddafi connection — and that officials suspected he was lying.
“We believe that Trump knew that he had leased his property to Qaddafi,” Sachs said. “He definitely denied that he knew, but we had gotten a lot of evidence.”
