Asked by a reporter Tuesday if he would visit Charlottesville, Va., after this weekend’s violence in that city, President Trump responded by talking up the winery he owns there.
“I own a house in Charlottesville. Does anyone know I own a house in Charlottesville?”, he said after he began to walk away from the podium in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City, where he answered reporters’ questions on Charlottesville and his executive order on infrastructure projects.
When asked if by “home” he meant his winery in Charlottesville, Trump confirmed it.
POTUS: “I own a house in Charlottesville…I know a lot about Charlottesville. Charlottesville is a great place that’s been very badly hurt” pic.twitter.com/AspwYhyPim— ABC News (@ABC) August 15, 2017
“I know a lot about Charlottesville,” he added. “Charlottesville is a great place that’s been very badly hurt over the last couple of days. I own actually one of the largest wineries in the United States — it’s in Charlottesville.”
Earlier, Trump answered multiple questions about his past statements on the violence in Charlottesville between White supremacy groups and counter-protesters. He said that there is “blame on both sides.”
Trump purchased the winery in 2011, and its website says that it is the largest one in Virginia and the largest “vinifera vineyard” on the East Coast.
“From our award-winning wines to memorable events to our world-class accommodations, there are innumerous ways to experience the magic of Trump Winery,” the website says. “Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in central Virginia, Trump Winery’s stunning 1,300-acre estate lies just a few miles from James Monroe’s Highland and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, the birthplace of American viticulture.”
