BuzzFeed published a video Friday showing Donald Trump giving a deposition in a court case related to a restaurant slated for his new hotel in Washington, DC.
Watch Donald Trump defend some of his most controversial comments while testifying under oath
“It’s not like I’ve said anything that could be so bad.”
Two chefs, Geoffrey Zakarian and José Andrés, pulled out of opening restaurants they were planning in Trump’s hotel after the Republican nominee made offensive comments about Mexicans. “More than half of my team is Hispanic, as are many of our guests,” Andrés said in a statement at the time. “As a proud Spanish immigrant and recently naturalized American citizen myself, I believe that every human being deserves respect, regardless of immigration status.”
Trump sued in response, alleging a breach of contract. (Eater has a helpful timeline of how the case unfolded.)
The lawsuit is still winding its way through the courts, but that didn’t stop a judge from granting BuzzFeed’s request to have the video of the deposition released, according to Politico.
“I don’t understand why they did this,” Trump says in the approximately two-hour deposition, referencing the lawsuit. “I’m running for office. I have credibility. It’s not like I’ve said anything that could be so bad.”
Here’s the second part of the deposition:
Claiming never to have never “said anything that could be so bad” is something legions of Trump’s foes would be quick to dispute — from “fat pig” Rosie O’Donnell to “blood-coming-out of her wherever” Megyn Kelly to hundreds of others on Twitter alone.
At one point in the second video, Trump is asked whether his public statements could prejudice Hispanic people against him, according to the transcript. (The transcript had been previously published.)
“I think in many cases they like me,” Trump responds. “Because what I’m doing is for the people that are in the country legally.”
Trump’s attorneys had tried to stop the release of the tape, citing the fear that it might end up in campaign commercials, according to Politico. Unfortunately for Trump, Superior Court Judge Brian Holeman didn’t find that explanation convincing.
