Donald Trump Remembers Michael Jackson
The world will remember Michael Jackson as one of the greatest entertainers that ever lived, but Donald Trump also reveals another side to the King of Pop that was rarely spoken about.
Michael was reportedly millions of dollars in debt before he died, but despite that, Trump says he was business savvy. “He was actually a very, very smart businessman,” the billionaire told Larry King on Monday. “He’d come into my apartment and we’d talk a lot about business.”
Trump recalled Michael’s meeting with former Beatle Paul McCartney, who he collaborated with on “Say Say Say” and “The Girl Is Mine.” “Paul McCartney mentioned that he was going to try and buy back the other half of the Beatles music and Michael then went out and bought it.”
The real estate mogul says his friend went through “hell” in the last decade of his life. “Michael was a much different guy in the last seven or eight years, maybe ten years. I always view it as two Michael Jacksons. You had Michael up till around the age of 35. That was the greatest entertainer I’ve ever seen and then you had the later version of Michael who was much more reticent. He was much shier. He was a terrific guy, he was a wonderful guy, but he lost a certain amount of confidence in the last 10 years. He went through a lot, including some very, very bad doctors.”
While he was living at Trump Tower in New York, Michael visited Trump’s children, but he never believed any of the molestation charges after witnessing his interaction with his kids firsthand. “Michael would spend a lot of time with my kids. Michael would come, play with the kids. He just loved children. He was not a child molester and I am certain of that. He’d play with my son Eric and my son Donald and he’d just play with them forever.”
Trump always had great respect and admiration for the pop star, comparing him to Elvis and the Beatles. “I’ve had every entertainer working for me more or less. I knew Pavarotti, I knew all of the great entertainers. I think the greatest entertainer that I have ever seen was Michael Jackson. There’s never been anyone like him.”