Donald Trump made headlines earlier this week when he said that he was open to buying a piece of the New York Mets if the struggling Wilpon family needed his financial help.
On Thursday, Jay Busbee and I got on the horn with The Donald for the latest episode of our "Why Is This News?" podcast. And after a few questions about "Donald J. Trump's Fabulous World of Golf" — his show on The Golf Channel that he's currently promoting — I brought up the subject of adding the Mets to his portfolio.
Though Trump didn't advance the story that much, he did confirm his interest and shed some light on why he's never pursued team ownership past his stint with the USFL in the '80s.
You made some waves this week when you said you were going to have a meeting with the Wilpons to discuss buying a partial stake in the Mets. Where is that at?
"Well, only if they need my help. They're friends of mine and they're wonderful people. And if they need help I would certainly be willing to help them. It's not going to be that easy for them. I hope they work it out. If they needed help, I would be there for them."
"I think it's really just that [helping the Wilpons]. I've done a lot of sports over the years, including more Mike Tyson fights than anybody ... I do a lot of sports ... tennis events, golf events ... I'm very much into the world of sports just by the kind of properties I own. If I could help Fred Wilpon and Jeff Wilpon, I'd love to do so."
You've been involved in a lot of individual sports like boxing and golf, but have never owned just one sports franchise. Why is that?
"It's just never really presented itself. It's a tough business. I have many friends in the business of team ownership, Bob Kraft, the Tisches, Woody Johnson, they're great people and they live in my buildings in many cases and I know them very well ... It's a tough way to make a buck and it's very tough emotionally, you know, when they go up and down on Sundays. When they win, they're up and they lose and they're down. It's not an easy thing to own a team."
Especially if they're named the Mets and they're battling against the behemoths over in the Bronx and down in Philadelphia.
So is Trump really interested in the Mets or is he taking advantage of an easy opportunity to generate press? Everything we know about the man would point toward the latter, though it would sure be interesting if it were the former. Can you imagine him forking over money and not having a say if the team continues to struggle in the standings?
Listen to our entire discussion below (or right-click to save to your computer for later listening).
Podcast: Why Is This News 31 — Donald Trump
Dido Joss Stone Majandra Delfino Maria Bello Jennifer Gareis
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