Donald Trump says he's '100 per cent' glad he came to NZ, in vintage Paul Holmes interview from the TVNZ vault

July 30, 2018

The US President, then property mogul, was in Auckland in 1993 to champion a casino bid.

While a visit to New Zealand's shores by US President Donald Trump doesn't not seem likely at the moment, he has been here before.

A vintage interview with broadcaster Paul Holmes has surfaced from the TVNZ archive, when the then property mogul was in Auckland in 1993 to champion a casino bid.

And Mr Trump was very complimentary of his visit at the time.

"I really wanted to come to New Zealand, first of all, and then today when I looked at it I realised 100 per cent," Mr Trump told Holmes.

"We're looking at the railway station, with the Maoris and with New World - two fantastic partners, and we hope to be chosen.

"I mean we have a great proposal, we have a great partnership. The Maoris are going to be great beneficiaries, because a lot of the profits are going to be going toward their education and health care and other things and I think it's going to be a fantastic partnership."

It also seems Mr Trump's personal worth was a subject much disputed back then, just as it is now.

The now-US President confirmed to Holmes he was not broke "this particular month" and that contrary to reports, his Atlantic City casino the Taj Mahal was actually preforming excellently, having registered "the largest win in the history of casino gaming anywhere in the world" in the previous month.

"What happens, the Casino Control Commission did a research project, or a licensing project, and I guess they determined between $500 [million] and $1.8 billion up, as opposed to down this time. Sometimes I'm down, sometimes I'm up," Mr Trump said.

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