Sunday, September 20, 2015

Fact Checking the GOP: Casino Gambling Trump Said-Jeb Said Exchange

During the 2nd Republican debate, Trump said he never tried to get casino gambling into Florida.   Bush insisted that he did.  The resulting spat sounded like 10-year-olds on the playground.  The only thing missing was a "Nyah, nyah, you can't make me!"

The Exchange:

Jeb:  "The one guy that had some special interests that I know of that tried to get me to change my views on something--that was generous and gave me money--was Donald Trump.  He wanted Casino gambling in Florida." (WHO "had some special interests."  "That" should refer to an inanimate object. A proper English pet-peeve.  Sorry... please continue.)

Donald:  "I didn't."

Jeb: "Yes, you did."

Donald: "Totally false."

Jeb:  "You wanted it and you didn't get it because I was opposed to casino gambling before during and after.  And that's not--I'm not going to be bought by anybody."

Donald:  "(If I'd wanted it) I promise I would have gotten it."
Ego overload!
Jeb:  "When he asked Florida to have casino gambling, we said no."

Donald: "Wrong."

Jeb:  "We said no.  And that's the simple fact.  The simple fact is...

 Donald" "Don't make things up, Jeb; don't make things up.  Come on."

The Facts:

An aide to Jeb Bush said that Trump did not personally lobby Jeb to allow casino gambling in Florida.  There was no face to face discussion of the issue.

But, in the 1990s, CNN reported that Trump was hoping to partner with Florida's Seminole Tribe to build a multi-million dollar casino.  In 2005, Bloomberg reported that Trump had hired former Florida Senate leader Mallory Horne to lobby for casino gambling in that state.  A court affidavit quotes Mr. Horne as testifying that he was hired by Donald Trump to lobby Jeb Bush to back casino gambling.  Mr. Horner reported to Mr. Trump that Jeb Bush would not budge on the casino issue after which Mr. Trump replied "That's the end of it."

M'eye Verdict:

As childish as the Jeb/Donald exchange was, facts are still facts; and it is The Donald's torturing of those facts along with his inability to admit failure that earns him another string of "Gops."  I'll give him credit for never having a one-on-one meeting with Jeb, but hiring a lobbyist to do the arm-twisting for him still earns The Donald a 4 out of 5 rating.  


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