In an ABC 20/20 interview dated August 17, 1990, Barbara Walters challenged Donald Trump over his debts and negotiations with lenders. When she described him as being “on the verge of bankruptcy” and “bailed out by the bank,” Trump objected to that characterization. Walters replied that she had spoken with “Several” bankers.
What did Barbara Walters ask Donald Trump about bankruptcy?
Walters’s question went beyond whether Trump had borrowed money. She pressed him on how he presented a deal with his lenders: “Being on the verge of bankruptcy, being bailed out by the bank — what, skating on thin ice and almost drowning. That’s a business man to be admired?”
Trump interrupted to dispute the phrase “on the verge of bankruptcy.” The exchange turned on competing descriptions of the same situation: Walters framed the bank deal as a rescue amid serious financial pressure, while Trump resisted language that suggested bankruptcy was imminent.
What did Trump say when Walters said she spoke to his bankers?
Trump challenged Walters’s claim, asking what the bankers had said. Walters answered, “Several.” That brief reply reinforced that she was presenting her account as based on conversations with multiple bankers, though the transcript does not identify them or independently establish the details of those conversations.
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Trump then defended the arrangement: “The deal I worked out is in the process. The deal I worked out is something that I think is good for everybody.” The transcript captures his disagreement with Walters’s framing, but does not provide enough evidence to resolve the underlying financial claims on its own.
What financial pressure did Walters describe?
In her broadcast narration, Walters described several difficulties facing Trump’s businesses and assets. She said bondholders of the Trump Castle Casino had missed a payment, the Trump shuttle was not profitable, and a 76-acre Manhattan property had not been developed. She also said Trump’s bankers chose to lend rather than force bankruptcy, on terms requiring him to give up substantial control and either make assets produce more money or sell them.
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Those details are claims in Walters’s 1990 narration, not independently verified findings in the transcript. The narration also cited $95 million and about $3 billion in debt; those figures should likewise be understood as figures presented in the broadcast, rather than as independently confirmed totals here.
Why was Trump discussing a book?
Walters introduced the segment in connection with Trump’s Surviving at the Top. She described The Art of the Deal as his first book, while Surviving at the Top was the book serving as the immediate context for this interview. The transcript does not establish that either book reproduces the exchange.
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Walters’s introduction and the interview frame the segment around the contrast between a public account of business success and the pressure she described in Trump’s financial negotiations. Trump also recalled that he had appeared on tabloid covers for 22 consecutive days; that is his recollection in the interview.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where can you read the interview transcript?
The Factba.se transcript hosted by Roll Call identifies the segment as an ABC 20/20 interview dated August 17, 1990, and records its narration and exchange: read the 1990 interview transcript. ABC News later summarized the segment as Walters grilling Trump about his debts and bankruptcies, and reproduced the key banker exchange in its retrospective: ABC News retrospective on Trump’s dealings with Barbara Walters. The transcript supports an account of what the speakers said; it does not independently verify the financial figures or establish current access to the complete original video.
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