Mayor swears at reporter in heated clash over Trump dinner claims

A press conference on Tuesday was cut short after the Gold Coast mayor told a reporter to "f— off" when asked about a dinner with US President Donald Trump. The mayor, Tom Tate, had claimed to have had dinner with Trump and first lady Melania Trump in February at Mar-a-Lago, but inconsistencies have emerged over whether this actually occurred.

According to ABC News AU, The Trump Organization stated that the mayor's account of the event was a "complete fabrication" and that the President did not have dinner with Mayor Tate. When questioned about the dinner, Mayor Tate said "we all know that" and that the matter was private.

The exchange became heated when the journalist pressed Mayor Tate for more information, including the cost of the meal. Mayor Tate's response was to tell the reporter to "f— off", at which point the press conference was cut short.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, ABC News AU — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.