Barbara Walters had never had time for Donald Trump‘s BS. A video from 1990 has surfaced on Twitter showing the legendary reporter, now 90, interviewing the businessman about his failed hotel ventures. Even thirty years ago, Trump was whining about how the press treats him unfairly. Walters took him to school.
BARBARA WALTER WAS DONE WITH DONALD’S BS IN 1990 😂 pic.twitter.com/sp5KAZCMPy
— ꧁TRIPLELIPS꧂ (@BLONDIE_007_) July 21, 2020
“I’ve never seen press reporting as I have with regards to me,” Trump, now 74, complained to Walters. “I hope the general public understands how inherently dishonest the press in this country is.” Walters’ unamused face says it all. “As a member of the press, let me go over some things that you say aren’t true.” She reads off quotes from Trump about how a “terrific deal” left him with a major “victory”.
Walters pointed out that he was actually about to lose everything: “Being on the verge of bankruptcy? Being bailed out by the banks? Skating on thin ice and almost drowning? That’s a businessman to be admired?” Trump sputtered, insisting that Walters was just repeating hearsay. “I talked to the banks. Several,” she responded, monotone. He tried to argue that people were telling him that buying the famed Plaza Hotel in New York City was a good idea.
“No they weren’t,” she simply stated. Walters, as expected, wasn’t lying. Coverage from The New York Times in 1990, and Trump’s tax returns from the time revealed that dozens of banks that lent money to Trump for his various failed business ventures — Atlantic City casinos, the Plaza Hotel, and the Trump Shuttle airline — were threatening to foreclose on their loans. The banks eventually agreed to keep him afloat and avoid personal bankruptcy.
Unfortunately, the boost from the banks didn’t last long. Three of his Atlantic City casinos, including the Trump Taj Mahal, filed for bankruptcy in 1991. The following year, the Plaza Hotel did as well. The Trump airline, much like many of his attempts at personal branding, failed.
Trump should have known going into the interview that he was up against an icon who could see through his lies. Walters’ journalism career is full of firsts. She became the first woman to co-host an American news program in 1974, on TODAY. Two years later, she was the first female co-anchor of a network evening news program, for ABC Evening News. Along with her celebrated role on 20/20, Walters is known as the creator of a show that takes Trump to task nearly every day: The View. She may have retired in 2014, but she’s still holding Trump accountable.