In an ABC 20/20 interview dated August 17, 1990, Barbara Walters challenged Donald Trump over whether he was close to bankruptcy and how he described a deal with his lenders. When Trump objected to her phrase “on the verge of bankruptcy,” Walters replied that she had spoken to his bankers. “Several,” she said when he asked whom.
What did Barbara Walters ask Donald Trump about bankruptcy?
Walters framed the issue as a question about whether Trump’s financial troubles made him a businessman to admire. She asked: “Being on the verge of bankruptcy, being bailed out by the bank — what, skating on thin ice and almost drowning. That’s a business man to be admired?” The transcript of the interview records Trump interrupting to dispute her description, especially the words “on the verge of bankruptcy.”
Walters answered, “I talked to your bankers.” Trump asked what they had said. “Several,” she replied. The exchange is also highlighted in an ABC News retrospective, which describes Walters pressing Trump about his debts and bankruptcies.
What did Walters say about Trump’s businesses and lenders?
In her broadcast narration, Walters described several pressures on Trump’s businesses and assets. She said bondholders of the Trump Castle Casino had missed a payment, the Trump shuttle was not profitable, and a 76-acre Manhattan property had not been developed. Those are claims in Walters’s narration; the interview transcript does not independently verify them.
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Walters also said Trump’s bankers had chosen to lend rather than force bankruptcy. As she described it, the terms required him to give up substantial control and either make assets generate more money or sell them. Her narration included figures of $95 million and about $3 billion in debt; both figures should be understood as figures she presented in the 1990 broadcast, not as independently verified totals.
How did Trump respond to Walters?
Trump objected to the bankruptcy characterization and defended the arrangement with lenders as a deal still in progress. He said: “The deal I worked out is in the process. The deal I worked out is something that I think is good for everybody.” The transcript also records him saying, “You say on the verge of bankruptcy, Barbara, and you talk on the verge, and you listen to what people are saying – –”
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The exchange shows the disagreement clearly: Walters treated the bank negotiations and financial pressures as evidence of a near-crisis, while Trump resisted the label and presented the lender agreement as a workable deal. The transcript documents what each said; it is not, by itself, a complete accounting of the underlying finances.
Why was the interview discussing Trump’s book?
Walters introduced the segment in connection with Surviving at the Top, Trump’s book at the time. Her introduction also described The Art of the Deal as his first book. The book context explains how the interview was framed, but the cited transcript does not establish that either book reproduces this exchange.
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Trump also recalled that he had been on tabloid covers for 22 consecutive days. That number is his recollection in the interview, not a separately verified count.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the interview does—and does not—establish
The transcript is a record of the August 17, 1990 20/20 segment and its central confrontation: Walters challenged Trump’s account of his debts and bank negotiations, and Trump rejected her “on the verge of bankruptcy” wording. ABC News’s retrospective independently supports that framing and reproduces the key banker exchange.
The available transcript and retrospective establish the speakers’ statements, not the independent accuracy of every business figure or claim in the narration. A complete original video was not established as currently accessible, so extended quotations here follow the transcript, whose punctuation may differ from the recording.
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