Tale Of The Tape: Jeff Greene And The Trump Video
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - For the first time, Jeff Greene acknowledged there is audio on the video of his now infamous confrontation with Donald Trump – an encounter he used in millions of dollars in television ads to launch his campaign.
The video shows Trump and Greene, at a Palm Beach golf resort, furiously gesticulating at one another in what appears to be an angry confrontation.
"I was at a friend's birthday dinner," Greene recalled. "He had just been elected So even though he was the President-elect, with all the Secret Service around, you walked right by his table.
When Trump saw him, Greene claimed, Trump stood up and started yelling at him. "He goes, 'Jeff Greene, he spent millions on commercials against me right here in Florida. He did everything he could to make sure I didn't get elected,'" Greene said. "He's ranting and raving. And I responded, I said, `Donald,' he wasn't Mr. President, I said, `Donald, you know that I'm a Democrat, and of course I supported Hillary Clinton.'"
Initially, Greene told reporters there was no audio – a claim he initially repeated during an interview with CBS Miami. Pressed on the matter, he acknowledged there was audio.
"My wife was three tables away, she picked up her IPhone and got some video," he said. "The only audio was just the hum of the room. But I'm sure if it's around, we're not hiding it from anyone."
Asked if he would release it, Greene said: "If my wife wants to. It's her phone. But I don't think there will be any problem."
Greene addressed a wide range of topics during the interview, which is scheduled to air Sunday at 8:30 am on CBS Miami.
On the issue of possible conflicts of interests with his stock and real estate holdings, the billionaire said: "The day I get into office if there is any possible conflict with anything I own, we'll sell it. Greene later adding: "I'll probably sell all my stocks."
One of the companies he says he has stock in is the Apache Corporation, which is considered one of the largest players in the fracking industry. Fracking has become a divisive issue in Florida.
"If I'm not mistaken, I think I probably have one-hundredth of one percent of my net worth in that, it's a few thousand shares – I remember because I see it in the statement," he said. "We will sell that and any energy stock the day I become governor because we don't want any possible hint of a conflict."
Greene said he is "definitely against fracking" and "vehemently against" off-shore oil drilling.
Greene also said he would "absolutely" release his tax returns if he is the nominee. "There is nothing secret," he said. "What I own mostly is a bunch of income properties and a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds."
While Greene may be able to sell his stocks, he cannot sell of his vast land holdings. As Governor, his policies could have an effect on the value of land he owns – both in terms of its use and development around it.
"We will get the very best ethics person to come in and tell us exactly what to do," he said. "We need to focus on the problems facing ordinary Floridians, so I don't want this kind of thing to be a distraction. So we will do whatever is recommended and required."
Asked if he had ever settled a claim for sexual harassment or discrimination, Greene said: "No, never. Sexual harassment? No, never, never, never."
"I've never discriminated against anyone," he said.
On guns, he said he wants to ban assault weapons, close the gun-show loophole, and improve background checks. He is also calling for the repeal of the state's Stand Your Ground law, calling it "a license to kill" that "has no place in a civilized.
(The complete interview will air Sunday at 8:30 on Facing South Florida.)