Donald Trump pulled a hilarious self-own when he told a lawyer questioning him about accusations of fraud against Trump University that he couldn’t “remember” his boast that he had the “world’s greatest memory” — which was captured in a deposition video obtained by Mother Jones magazine.
In the 26-minute video, recorded in December 2015 in Trump Tower, Trump answers questions regarding a class-action suit against his “university.” Trump agreed to pay $25 million shortly after he moved into the White House to settle claims against the shuttered operation. Thousands of customers who paid as much as $35,000 for Trump University seminars contended that they had been lured by false promises that they would learn Trump’s investing “secrets” from his “hand-picked” instructors.
Trump’s lawyers battled to keep the deposition video secret as Trump campaigned for the presidency — though transcripts and hundreds of pages of court documents were released in 2016. During his campaign, Trump bashed the judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, as biased because of his Mexican ancestry as Trump was attacking Mexican immigrants in his speeches.
Mother Jones is the first to publish Trump’s videotaped deposition.
In the video, Trump never admits to lying and claims nothing he has said is “false.” But he does concede statements were “innocent” exaggerations and “hyperbole.” He also claims he can’t recall several details about university operations — despite his purported world-class memory.
At one point in the video (check it out above), the attorney for the plaintiffs, Jason Forge, asks Trump if he believes he has “one of the best memories in the world.”
A bored, annoyed Trump replies: “That I can’t tell you.”
Forge then notes that Trump had stated on NBC just weeks earlier that he had the “world’s greatest memory.”
Trump responds: “As good as my memory is, I don’t remember that.”
There were other similarities in the deposition to Trump’s statements during his presidency. He insisted the “university” had “a lot of very good instructors” — yet was unable to name one.
He then added: “I’ve heard good things” about them.
A source provided Mother Jones with the video. Its authenticity was confirmed by Art Cohen, a lead plaintiff in one of the lawsuits against Trump University and Trump.
“On this video, Trump’s shifty memory and dishonest character are exposed when he is faced with questions that demand the truth,” Cohen told the magazine.