Story highlights
Donald Trump could be touting more than just his candidacy on Tuesday night
Trump appears set to be flanked by branded wines, (raw) steaks and bottled "natural spring water" as he speaks and takes questions from reporters
Donald Trump is touting more than just his candidacy on Tuesday night, offering up some red meat – literally – to supporters at a news conference in Jupiter, Florida.
Flanked by wines, (raw) steaks and bottled “natural spring water,” the Republican front-runner launched into a lengthy defense of his assorted branded product lines.
“We sell water and we have water, and it’s a very successful water company,” Trump said, dismissing a mocking comment last week from Mitt Romney. “It’s a private little water company and I supply the water for all my places and it’s very good.”
“We have ‘Trump Steaks,’” he continued, pointing out beef that – given the venture was discontinued years ago – was unlikely to have been cut from the same stock as the original line.
Trump then grabbed for and waved around an issue of what he described as his magazine – which folded in 2009 – again taunting Romney, saying “it goes to all of my clubs, I’ve had it for many years.”
Later, he cited Romney’s “viciousness” as “one of the reasons I brought the wine out and the water out and the steak out, and more wine and more water, and I told you about Trump University, where – we’re going to win that case, that’s going to be an easy case to win – everybody signed a document.”
“You have to do what’s right,” Trump said, explaining why he refused to settle pending lawsuits against his defunct for-profit education venture, “and believe it or not, I’m a very highly principled person. If you live by principle, you’re going to do very well.”
For the friendly guests invited into the Election Night venue: servers walking around with champagne and wine glasses, along with a table stocked with cheese, charcuterie, fruit and cookies.
There was also a “step and repeat,” the kind of banner backdrop typically seen behind movie stars on a red carpet. This one, of course, featured Trump branding.
The wine – including bottles of rosé, Blanc de Blanc, chardonnay and a Meritage red – is all featured online at the Trump Winery website.
CNN’s Jeremy Diamond and Sara Murray contributed to this report.
