A story from the late 1980s about Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards threatening to stab Donald Trump with a knife resurfaced this week.
The storyteller in question was Michael Cohl, the promoter for the Stones’ 1989 Steel Wheels tour, which included 115 shows across Europe and North America. He first recounted this tale of hot heads and potential violence to Pollstar in August, and it has been making the Internet rounds again thanks in part to a Thursday Salon article.
According to Cohl, the incident took place on the final stop of the tour at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. The show was to be aired on pay-per-view and sponsored by the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, which was adjacent to the concert venue.
Cohl said the Stones, not wanting to be associated with Trump, struck a deal with the billionaire mogul that forbade him from promoting the show outside of Atlantic City or from attending the show itself.
Things obviously did not go as planned.
“I get word that I have to come to the press room in the next building,” Cohl told Pollstar. “I run to the press room in the next building and what do you think is happening? There’s Donald Trump giving a press conference, in our room.”
Cohl said Trump told him, “They begged me to go up, Michael,” to which Cohl responded: “Stop it. Don’t make a liar of yourself.”
Five minutes later, Cohl was informed that Trump was again addressing the media. This did not sit well with the Stones, particularly Richards.
“Keith pulls out his knife and slams it on the table and says, ‘What the hell do I have you for? Do I have to go over there and fire him myself? One of us is leaving the building — either him, or us,'” Cohl said.
Cohl confronted Trump again, using Trump’s own catchphrase against him: “You’re fired.”
“One of two things is going to happen,” Cohl said he told the man currently vying for the GOP presidential nomination. “You’re going to leave the building and, at 6:40, the Rolling Stones are going to speak on CBS News, or you’re not going to leave the building and I’m going to go on and do an interview to explain to the world why the pay-per-view was canceled.”
That’s when Cohl said he noticed “three shtarkers he’s with, in trench coats, two of them are putting on gloves and the other one is putting on brass knuckles.” Sensing the situation could escalate, Cohl called over his security, who “got 40 of the crew with tire irons and hockey sticks and screwdrivers.”
Trump and his team left, defusing the tension.
“And that was the night I fired Donald Trump,” Cohl said in conclusion.
