Trump: Bush Family Used Eminent Domain to Build Stadium in Texas

‘I just found that out five minutes ago’

STEPHANOPOULOS: "And Donald Trump joins us right now. Welcome back, Mr. Trump. So what did you think about last night?"
TRUMP: "I loved it. It was a great debate. We had some fun. I had a great time and I’m very happy with the results. It was terrific."
STEPHANOPOULOS: "You did have that back-and-forth with Jeb Bush on eminent domain. And the facts do seem to be on his side."
(CROSSTALK)
STEPHANOPOULOS: "— let me just explain it first. Vera Coking, you wanted and the Casino Development Authority of New Jersey wanted to take her house to build a parking lot for your casino."
TRUMP: "Not a parking lot."
STEPHANOPOULOS: "She went to — She went to court. You fought her for three years and finally the state supreme court ruled and here’s what they said. Trump, not the public, stood to benefit from the proposed seizures and that the deal was analogous to giving Trump a blank check with respect to future development on the property for casino hotel purposes."
TRUMP: "Good. And you know what I did? I let the court stand as opposed to going higher up."
STEPHANOPOULOS: "Well, it was the state Supreme Court."
TRUMP: "But let me — we could have gone higher. But let me just tell you, George, I decided not to do it. I decided not to pursue it. We could have —"
STEPHANOPOULOS: "A three-year fight."
TRUMP: "— doesn’t matter. We could have gone a different way. I offered her a lot of money. She ended up selling the house for much less money than I offered her. Eminent domain is a very important thing. Jeb Bush doesn’t understand what it means. And if you look into the Bush family — I found this out five minutes ago. They used eminent domain for the stadium in Texas, where they own, I guess, a piece of the Texas Rangers."
STEPHANOPOULOS: "That was George W. Bush."
TRUMP: "That doesn’t matter. It was the Bush family. They used private eminent domain. He didn’t tell anybody this. So I mean, he should have told people. Maybe — he probably doesn’t know because I don’t even think he knows what eminent domain is. But I just found that out five minutes ago."
STEPHANOPOULOS: "So no second thoughts about your position at all?"
TRUMP: "Eminent domain is important. You wouldn’t have highways, you wouldn’t have roadways, you wouldn’t have bridges, you wouldn’t have hospitals. You wouldn’t have anything without it. The Keystone Pipeline, everybody wants the Keystone Pipeline. If you’re a conservative, you want the Keystone Pipeline. They have a whole section on eminent domain. When they write up, the whole thing, on the Keystone. They have a whole section right now —"

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