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Gold Coast, QLD

Gold Coast mayor apologises for outburst but maintains recollection of Trump dinner

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  • Tom Tate has stood by recollections about dinner with US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
  • The mayor today also apologised to Australian viewers and reporters for swearing on Tuesday at a journalist during questioning about the trip, which has resulted in conflicting accounts of a high-profile dinner at Mar-a-Lago.
  • The mayor was in Mar-a-Lago for the signing of a doomed Gold Coast Trump Tower, with the ceremony between a Queensland developer and the Trump Organization, headed by the president's son Eric.
  • While a business associate of Mr Tate's told local media he was at the dinner and backed the mayor's recollection, the Trump Organization issued a further statement describing the Gold Coast politician's account as a "complete fabrication".
  • Ratepayers paid for flights to Florida, and Mr Tate has said he was invited there as mayor.

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Tom Tate has stood by recollections about dinner with US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

It comes after the ABC revealed on Monday conflicting accounts, and the Trump Organisation described any dinner as "a complete fabrication".

The mayor today also apologised to Australian viewers and reporters for swearing on Tuesday at a journalist during questioning about the trip, which has resulted in conflicting accounts of a high-profile dinner at Mar-a-Lago.

Mr Tate, the energetic mayor of Australia's sixth-biggest city, had attracted headlines when he told multiple media outlets of having dinner with the president at his holiday retreat in Florida in February this year.

The mayor was in Mar-a-Lago for the signing of a doomed Gold Coast Trump Tower, with the ceremony between a Queensland developer and the Trump Organization, headed by the president's son Eric.

"Mate, I had dinner with him," he told Triple M Gold radio.

While a business associate of Mr Tate's told local media he was at the dinner and backed the mayor's recollection, the Trump Organization issued a further statement describing the Gold Coast politician's account as a "complete fabrication".

Gold Coast Council records from the time show Mr Tate's itinerary was full many days in other cities when he was on the global journey in February, even detailing what clothes to wear and briefing packs about people he was to meet.

The itinerary's three days at Mar-a-Lago only contain four words about events: "Meeting with Trump Organization."

Ratepayers paid for flights to Florida, and Mr Tate has said he was invited there as mayor.

Shortened to 1 minute of reading, this version reads 5.3 on the Niral Score.

You are reading our version, not theirs. This is ABC News's report shortened to its most important sentences, in plainer words, with verdicts and loaded words taken out. Plain description stays, and so do adjectives that carry a fact, such as "former" or "federal". The reporting, the facts and the quotations are theirs — quotations are never edited — and the indicators beside it measure this version. Hover or tap Adjectives to see every one left in the text.

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ABC Newsas they published this story 7.3 8 82 53.9
Mundane Readneutralized from ABC News 6 7 82 53.9

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