Trump Recalls Lying to New York About Renting to a Dictator

Does anybody remember that time Donald Trump rented his property to Libyan dictator, Moammar Gadhafi?

Here’s the scoop: In 2009, Gadhafi was coming to New York for a meeting with the UN General Assembly. Rather than stay in a hotel, he was looking to rent a plot of land to erect a Bedouin-style tent. After failing to secure a spot with the city and in New Jersey, he found his place on Trump’s Seven Springs estate, in Bedford, New York.

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Gadhafi’s ties to terrorism didn’t make him a favored guest in the country, but at the time, Trump claimed to have no knowledge of who was renting his land to pitch an elaborate tent.

As it was, Gadhafi never actually stayed in the tent. From the Blaze:

“’We have business partners and associates all over the world. The property was leased on a short-term basis to Middle Eastern partners who may or may not have a relationship to Mr. Gadhafi. We are looking into the matter now,’ Trump Organization spokeswoman Rhona Graff said in a statement at the time.”

Of course, several years after the fact, when speaking directly with Trump, as often happens, he spilled what his surrogates try to cover.

“’I dealt with Gadhafi. Excuse me. I rented him a piece of land. He paid me more for one night than the land was worth for the whole year or for two years. And then I didn’t let him use the land. That’s what we should be doing,’ Trump said in a 2011 interview with Fox News.

He reiterated the claim on CNN that same year. Trump said he had leased Gaddafi ‘a piece of land for his tent. He paid me more than I get in a whole year. And then, eh, he wasn’t able to use the piece of land. … So I got in one night more money than I would have gotten all year for this piece of land up in Westchester. And then didn’t let him use it? That’s called being intelligent,’ Trump said.”

No, actually, you toad, that’s called being dishonest, in order to profit from terrorists (and I’m not even talking about his cozy relationship with the Clintons).

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The Bedford town attorney, Joel Sachs, dealt with Trump regarding the matter. He says Trump claimed to have no knowledge of who he was renting to, but that city officials had lots of evidence and were convinced he was lying.

The issue resurfaced on Sunday, when Trump appeared on “Face the Nation.”

 “’Don’t forget, I’m the only one. I made a lot of money with Gaddafi, 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.’”

You made a deal with a dictator. Who was laughing?

That Trump is the kind of “leader” who will make deals with terrorists for profit then lie about it isn’t a confidence builder, nor is he the kind we want in charge of national security.

We’re so screwed.

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