President Trump is getting slammed by one of the very few people in the world who also knows what it is like to be both a billionaire and bankrupt.
In an interview with Town & Country, socialite Patricia Kluge says that President Trump is a ‘liar’ who produces sub-par wine, two claims that are sure to rile up the Commander-in-Chief.
That second claim is a bit of a shock coming from Kluge, as Trump Winery is produced on the vineyard she spent two decades building in Charlottesville, Virginia.
She does not seem to be all that sentimental about the vineyard these days though, offering a very blunt and too the point assessment of the grappa which bears the Trump name.
‘The wine is not good anymore,’ says Kluge.
She did not stop there either, noting towards the end of the interview: ‘I have had several people in Palm Beach lament that it’s the only wine they have at the menu at Mar-a-Lago.’
That’s the wine talking: Patricia Kluge takes aim at President Trump’s namesake wine in an interview with Town & Country, saying: ‘It’s not good anymore’ (pair above in 2011 at the grand opening of Trump Vineyard Estates)
Decant this: ‘I have had several people in Palm Beach lament that it’s the only wine they have at the menu at Mar-a-Lago,’ added Kluge (above with third husband Bill Moses)
President Trump has raved about his wine a number of times in the past
Amd on Tuesday, President Donald Trump took some time at a press conference about infrastructure that devolved into a back-and-forth with the media about racial unrest in Virginia to talk about the winery he owns in Charlottesville.
Trump Winery is ‘one of the largest wineries in the United States’ the President told those assembled at Trump Tower in New York City, a perplexing aside given the serious nature of the topic being discussed.
That aside was also factually incorrect, with the 1,300-acre vineyard dwarfed in size by the likes of E. & J. Gallo in California (23,000 acres) and
The 36,000 cases of wine that Trump Winery produces each year is also much less than the likes of Pindar Vineyards (100,000 cases per year) and Wolffer Estate (37,500 cases per year) on Long Island.
‘Does anyone know I own a house in Charlottesville? Oh boy. It’s in Charlottesville, you’ll see,’ said President Trump during the .
‘It is the winery. I know a lot about Charlottesville. Charlottesville is a great place that’s been very badly hurt over the last couple of days. But I own, actually, one of the largest wineries in the United States. It’s in Charlottesville.’
‘He lies a lot, and he knows that, and everybody knows that, but he can’t stop himself,’ explained Kluge.
‘All of us who have known Donald in New York for a long time have always known that, and you have to find a way of working around it because it’s part of his makeup.’
And Kluge did have some positive things to say as well in her interview, particularly about how Eric Trump does a ‘great job with maintenance while running the vineyard, which is in his name.
‘The vineyard looks absolutely fabulous and everything looks polished,’ said Kluge.
She also admitted to never having a fractured relationship with President Trump, even in the wake of the incidents which occured six years ago when she sold her vineyard.
Not so yuge says Kluge: The interview comes three days after President Trump falsely stated his vineyard was the biggest in the US during a discussion about racial tensions
Kluge became known as ‘the wealthiest divorcee in history’ after a $100 million settlement from media baron John Kluge in 1990 – but blew the fortune building a lavish estate and winery.
When the business struggled to get on its feet, Kluge was forced to declare bankruptcy in June 2011. Trump swooped in and shelled out $6.2 million for the vineyard at auction.
Kluge, a longtime friend of the Trumps, was given a role as a vice president of operations at the vineyard – but then told she was no longer needed full time.
Her unceremonious dumping came about even though the Trump Vineyard Estates – formerly known as the Kluge Estate Vineyard – has won awards for its wine while Kluge has worked on its team.
Before the foreclosure, Trump paid $500,000 for 200 acres around the mansion. In an attempt to get his hands on the house, the deal included the front lawn and driveway.
But when Trump made a bid for the house, which had been up for sale for $100 million, for just $3.6 million at its foreclosure auction, the Bank of America refused and bought it back for $15.3 million.
He brought a lawsuit against the bank to claim the property, which he wants to convert into a luxury hotel. The litigation is ongoing.
President Trump had claimed no one else would want to buy the lavish 45-room neo-Georgian Albemarle House as he owns the front yard, most of the driveway and back yard.
Kluge, who is now married to her third husband, had owned the house since she acquired it as part of her bumper divorce from Metromedia billionaire John Kluge in 1990.
The house was designed after an 18th-century English country manor with multilevel gardens, fountains, a swimming pool and rustic guest cabin.
It also has a spa, home theatre, 3,500-bottle wine cellar and 2,000-square-foot sitting room.
The British-born Kluge, who was a stripper and starred in adult film ‘The Nine Acres of Nakedness’, became known as the host of extravagant parties attended by the rich and famous throughout the 1980s.
She hosted opulent events for royalty, corporate chieftains, celebrities and literary figures at the home