Source : Perth Now news
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has sworn at a journalist and stormed out of a press conference after being grilled about a dinner he said he had with Donald Trump.
Mr Tate claimed he had dinner with the US President and first lady Melania Trump in February at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
But the White House later said they “did not have dinner with that group”, according to the ABC.
At a press conference on Tuesday, an ABC journalist grilled Mr Tate about the dinner.
Asked whether he had had dinner with Mr Trump, he said: “We all know that.”
Further pressed on how long the dinner lasted, he said: “I’ve already answered yes, and the matter’s private so I’m not going to elaborate much further than that.”
Mr Tate was then read a statement from The Trump Organization.
“Any suggestion that the president had dinner with Mayor Tate, or that he attended an event that was directly or indirectly connected to or associated with Mayor Tate or his event, is categorically false,” the statement read.
“While the president was on the patio, he briefly said hello to the mayor’s table, as he typically does with guests at Mar-a-Lago.”
Mr Tate replied: “All I’m telling you is what I believe is correct.”
Asked how much the trip cost, Mr Tate said it was “private”.
He then asked if the reporter was from the ABC.
“Yeah, f**k off, I’ve had enough,” he said, then walked away from the press conference.
Deputy Mayor Mark Hammel, who joined the press conference after Mr Tate, said they mayor’s behaviour was not appropriate.
“It’s not appropropriate behaviour in any circumstance. I appreciate the mayor was worked up, it’s not appropriate language,” he said.
Asked if the questions “were out of line”, he replied: “I think you have a job to do as journalists, to ask questions, obviously I wasn’t part of the trip, I don’t have particulars.”
“I respect that the mayor felt that part of the trip was private, and didn’t answer those questions, I suspect we haven’t seen the end of this matter at this time,” he added.
