Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump promised to save famed fitness guru Richard Simmons from his alleged in-home captivity if he wins the presidency in November.
Appearing on the “Jonathon Brandmeier Show” ahead of poll closings on Tuesday, Trump reacted briefly to the reports that Simmons is being held by his maid in his Hollywood mansion and has cut off contact with many of his old friends, saying simply “we have to get him out.”
“If you are elected president, will you release Richard Simmons from his hostage situation?” Brandmeier asked Trump as the pair ended their interview.
“We have to get him out. We have to get him out,” Trump said as Brandmeier and he chuckled. “No question.”
After going largely off the grid for the past two years, the New York Daily News ran an extensive story on Simmons’ reclusive behavior, claiming he has cut off contact with longtime friends who believe the fitness promoter is being taken advantage of, held against his will and depressed.
However, Simmons made a rare public appearance Tuesday pushing back on those claims, telling the “Today” show that the story is untrue.
“No one is holding me in my house as a hostage,” Simmons told host Savannah Guthrie Monday. “You know I do what I want to do as I’ve always done, so people should sort of just believe what I have to say because, like, I’m Richard Simmons!”
As for Trump, he made the comment mere hours polls closed in five states, including Florida and Ohio, which he is battling Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. John Kasich for supremacy.
