The chat between Walters and Trump had to do with his finances, particular, his purchase of the Plaza hotel in 1988. At the time, he paid $407.5 million (the equivalent of over $698 million today) or the iconic New York location, a controversial sum. He went on to sell the building for $325 million (equivalent to $545 million) in 1995.
In speaking with Walters, the purchase came up. Trump claimed to be a successful, covetable businessman with an incredible new deal, but Walters apparently had receipts that showed he was being dishonest.
“I’ve never seen press reporting as I have with regard to me,” Trump began in the chat, which was reposted on Twitter by former tennis player Martina Navratilova. “The general public understands how inherently dishonest the press in this country is.”
Walters shot back. “As a member of the press, let me try to clear up some of the things that you say aren’t true.” She begins to quote Trump stating his “bankers and I worked out a terrific deal that allows me to come out stronger than ever.”
The journalist claimed he was close to bankruptcy, despite what Trump considered a stellar deal. But he didn’t back down. “You say on the verge of bankruptcy Barbara, and you talk on the verge, and you listen to what people are saying.”
Walters then revealed she’d spoke with several of Trump’s bankers. “Well, I don’t know what the bankers have said. The Plaza is a very valuable property. Everybody told me ‘You paid too much, you paid too much.’ Now, they’re all saying ‘What a great deal he made.’”
A simple response came from Walters: “No, they’re not.”
Because of her matter-of-fact delivery, Twitter users seem thrilled by the interview. Navratilova started the conversation. “Barbara Walters SKEWERED trump here. He was as full of lies then as he is now,” she wrote.
Others echoed the point. “Donald Trump has been a Hall of Fame liar and bulls*** artist his entire life,” wrote @RussOnPolitics. “It’s why he has slithered out of almost every political, legal, and financial disaster he’s been entangled in. Reporters should watch this Barbara Walter clip. She cornered him, like a rabid dog.”
So would Walters ever take up Trump again in an interview? It turns out she already did. In 2015, Walters sat down with the entire Trump family. It was all part of a special titled 20/20: Meet The Trumps a year ahead of the November 2016 election.
If she’d approach Trump now with the same interview tactics as displayed in the ’90s, though, is unknown. Walters had no additional comment for Newsweek.
