CNN/screenshot
Anderson Cooper, right, interviews Donald Trump about steak.
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper repeatedly pressed Donald Trump on Wednesday about the authenticity of the "Trump Steaks" the Republican presidential frontrunner touted at his press conference the night before.
"Just a couple factual things. Those steaks you showed, those aren't actually Trump Steaks, right?" Cooper asked during an interview.
Trump insisted they were real.
"I buy them. I'm not going to kill the cow," he said.
"Trump Steaks: We sell the steaks through my clubs. I have many clubs and hotels. We sell the steaks," Trump continued, as he and Cooper talked over each other.
In 2007, Trump hawked Trump Steaks through the Sharper Image consumer catalog. In a famous promotional video, Trump proclaimed that the "world's greatest steaks" were "by far the most best-tasting, most flavorful beef you've ever had."
Mitt Romney, the GOP's 2012 nominee, cited Trump Steaks and other discontinued Trump brands last week as proof that Trump wasn't a "business genius." Romney said this in a fairly unprecedented speech in which he said Trump wasn't qualified for the Oval Office.
But Trump had a pile of supposed Trump Steaks - as well as Trump-branded water, wine, and magazines - at a Tuesday-night press conference celebrating his latest string of primary wins.
"We have Trump Steaks," Trump said, telling the reporters there that the steaks would cost $50 apiece.
Because Trump Steaks are no longer sold at Sharper Image, people immediately questioned the authenticity of the brand. One observer noted that the packaging indicated the steaks came from Bush Brothers Provision Co., and the company confirmed to Bloomberg that it sold steaks to Trump-affiliated properties.
As Cooper repeatedly pressed him on the topic, Trump suggested that all steaks sold at his businesses were effectively "Trump Steaks":
It's the same thing. We do a tremendous steak business. … We buy a lot of steaks from different places. I don't want to buy, if I'm in California, I don't want to buy my steaks from New York. We have different suppliers. We sell the steaks - and largely to our hotels and our clubs and things like that. It's a small business.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
A display of products that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has for guests, including meat, wine and water are prepared before a press conference at the Trump National Golf Club Jupiter.
Cooper wasn't convinced.
"The items you were showing last night in order to push back against Mitt Romney, the implication was that those are Trump Steaks available nationwide somewhere. They're not," Cooper told Trump.
"Well, they are available nationwide. You can buy them at different places that I own. I own many, many places," Trump replied.
"You can buy them if you eat in a restaurant here or somewhere," Cooper replied.
"Worldwide. Worldwide," Trump continued.
"You can't go to the Internet and buy them," Cooper said.