Trump's $5M offer to Obama: 'This is good for the country'
Does 'The Donald' honestly believe the president would take him up on his offer to release his college transcripts, applications and passport records?
This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," October 24, 2012. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Donald Trump is very famous for making deals. And tonight, he wants now to make a multi-million-dollar deal with President Obama. What are the stakes? We spoke with Donald Trump earlier tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: Donald, nice to talk to you.
DONALD TRUMP, CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION (Via Telephone): Hello, Greta.
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, Donald, you've done it again! You've gotten everybody's attention. So tell me exactly what is the challenge that you have posed to the president of the United States?
TRUMP: Well, first of all, the response has been unbelievable, beyond what anyone would have ever thought, as you probably know, and as you said. And it has been incredible.
The president is probably the least transparent president in the history of the country. And I'm viewing this not as a negative thing, I'm viewing this as a positive, what we're doing, positive even for the president.
People want to see what's going on with the president. And I offered $5 million payable immediately to a charity of his choice -- now, that's his charity -- if he releases his college records and applications and passport records and applications.
Now, if you look into the past, Greta, John McCain released, the Bushes released, Clinton released, almost all that I know of, have released information and information that I am talking about. President Obama hasn't released. I hope he takes me up on it. It would be a great thing for charity. Truthfully, I think it would be a great thing for him and certainly for the country, because there is so much anger about this issue. And it is a hidden issue, but there is tremendous anger.
VAN SUSTEREN: Let me tell you how I think you boxed yourself in on this one, and why. First of all, $5 million, that's chump change to you. You are a very rich man. If I were the president of the United States, I would say, you know what, Donald, let's talk real money. You put $100 million on the table and I do it. Then I would see if you bellied up to the table and did it or not. If you didn't, I would say, see, that's a stunt by Donald Trump.
TRUMP: Well, let's see what happens. Let's see what happens. I happen to think that if he released his records, it would be great for charity. If he released his records, it might very well be good for him, and it might be very bad for him --
VAN SUSTEREN: Would you go higher?
TRUMP: I would certainly consider it, absolutely.
VAN SUSTEREN: $20 million?
TRUMP: Greta, I am not negotiating with you. Stop playing games. It's so ridiculous --
(LAUGHTER)
VAN SUSTEREN: But if you are serious about this --
TRUMP: Greta, I wish we had a president who could negotiate like you. Our country would be doing a lot better. I have offered a lot of money. It goes to charity. It's a charity of his choice. It's something he should do. I hope he does it. It will be very interesting to see.
VAN SUSTEREN: What do you want? What are you looking for that you think is worth $5 million to charity? You haven't made an offer on the table for Governor Romney, so I figure you must be thinking there is something that is valuable?
TRUMP: No, I think that people want to see. You have no idea. I get millions and millions of hits on just please stay with this. I walk down the street, people love me over it. I went to North Carolina, made a speech. The most important thing was the issue of location, place of birth, et cetera. I went to Liberty University, made a speech, incredible school. I mean, they loved this --
VAN SUSTEREN: What --
TRUMP: Greta, this is a very important issue. This is a very important issue.
VAN SUSTEREN: Are you not satisfied with the presentation of the documents of his birth? Are we going back to that?
TRUMP: Well, I am not sure about it. Other people are not sure. All have you to do is pick up the newspapers and you will see. Many people have serious questions about what he presented. There were many, many people. So I am --
VAN SUSTEREN: Excuse me --
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: There are two questions. I thought the birth issue was established that you were satisfied. You got the president to produce his long-firm birth certificate.
TRUMP: I did. And Greta, nobody else was able to do that.
VAN SUSTEREN: Right. I thought that you were satisfied. He met the constitutional requirements. Now you want these other records. I am trying to figure out why. Is it like you want to see what kind of student he was --
TRUMP: Greta, why are you speaking for me? I never said I was satisfied. I never told you that I was satisfied?
VAN SUSTEREN: Oh, I didn't know that.
TRUMP: Excuse me, who is satisfied? Pick up the newspapers, there are many, many people, tremendous numbers of people that are not satisfied. There is tremendous skepticism as to what he presented. Unbelievable skepticism --
VAN SUSTEREN: I stand corrected. I apologize. I apologize for getting it wrong. I am satisfied. I made a mistake --
TRUMP: Are you satisfied?
VAN SUSTEREN: Yes.
TRUMP: I am very surprised at you. I am very surprised at you. I don't know how you can be satisfied. But if you are satisfied, you are less skeptical than me. I grew up in the real estate business in New York, Greta. I have seen everything.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, let me ask you a question, in these college records, is there something else that you are looking for besides the issue about birth?
TRUMP: Greta, let's see what it says! You are talking about a tremendous amount of money for charity. Let's see what it says. Who knows! I mean, if you ask me, what do we know? You don't know anything, Greta. For you to say -- I really am surprised at you. You don't know anything. For you to say that you are satisfied is really shocking to me, to be honest with you. When you ask me, what do you think? Let's find out. I can't tell what you I think because I don't know. I haven't seen the papers --
VAN SUSTEREN: Donald, let me -- this is the thing -- this is what I don't get. There was a newspaper report that this child had been born at the time the president had been born, in Hawaii --
TRUMP: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: And there would have been no way to create that --
TRUMP: You are wrong!
VAN SUSTEREN: I'm wrong?
TRUMP: It's a well-known fact that many people in order to get certain benefits of the United States would put out those reports and put them out when people aren't even in the country. That happened many, many times. If you read the facts and if you understood this, you wouldn't even be asking that question.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right.
TRUMP: By putting it out, they would get the benefits of being a U.S. citizen and get some of the benefits and all of the benefits of being a United States citizen. So -- I am surprised you said that, too, Greta.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK. What is your suspicion, are you fishing? Or do you have --
TRUMP: Greta, I don't want to say anything about suspicion. I would like to have him be transparent. We know nothing about our president. I mean, he writes a book a number of years ago, and the cover says "Born in Kenya, raised in Indonesia." If that's the case, that's fine, except you are not allowed to be the president -- minor detail. So I have no -- hey, I would be the happiest person in the world if he would give his records and if his records would be beautiful because it would take all doubt away.
As I said today and I think you probably heard me that I would be totally satisfied if he did that I would be totally satisfied if he did that. And if I am satisfied, everybody would be satisfied because I'm pretty skeptical about everything and many things in life. But I would be extremely satisfied and the biggest beneficiary would be him and a charity.
VAN SUSTEREN: What is your thought about Gloria Allred? She went to court to seek documents unsealed. Apparently Governor Romney was a witness in a divorce 10 or 15 years ago.
TRUMP: I know Gloria Allred. She's a terrible lawyer. She is a third rate strictly. Anything she's involved with doesn't usually work out well. She represented somebody with me, it was a joke the way she represented the person and it was actually quite sad. So, you know, anything Gloria Allred said, I would take with a grain of salt.
VAN SUSTEREN: Donald, always nice to see you, even when we lock horns.
TRUMP: Thank you, Greta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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