In a town-hall style interview with Matt Lauer on “Today” Monday morning, GOP hopeful Donald Trump insisted that he can relate to “the average American,” saying that like them, he has eaten at McDonald’s and driven himself in a car — and received a “small loan” of $1 million from his father to get his first business up and running.
"My father gave me a small loan of a million dollars." –@RealDonaldTrump #TrumpTODAY https://t.co/ENwVyJVM9S
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 26, 2015
“My father gave me a small loan of a million dollars,” Trump said, as people in the audience gasped audibly and asked, “Small loan?” Trump insisted that the money allowed him entry into the Manhattan real estate market, and that his father made him pay the loan back with interest, but the damage was already done, as even other Today show hosts found that statement absurd:
I predict we'll be hearing more about that "million dollar loan" from his father Trump mentioned during the @TODAYshow town hall
— Savannah Guthrie (@SavannahGuthrie) October 26, 2015
But they weren’t the only ones:
And a small loan is like $100, not no $1,000,000. Just being real. #TrumpTODAY
— Renee Larson-Endsley (@iamreneejai) October 26, 2015
@TODAYshow Did he just say a SMALL LOAN of a MILLION DOLLARS!???? #TrumpTODAY
— Cuzzin Paul (@Cuzzin_Paul) October 26, 2015
"It has not been easy for me. My father gave me a small loan of a million dollars."
(violin stops abruptly.)#TrumpTODAY
— Mr. Newberger (@jeremynewberger) October 26, 2015
Adjust for inflation a small loan of a million back when he was young would equate to like 5 million now #TrumpTODAY
— Michael Mararian (@michaelmararian) October 26, 2015
Or, as John Fugelsang noted:
Anyone else notice #TrumpTODAY happens the same morning World Health Organization warns us about dead meat?
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) October 26, 2015
