The next time Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is in Los Angeles, he might want to think twice about hitting up The Grove for his shopping and trolley-riding needs, because he's not welcome at the outdoor mall, TMZ has discovered.
A TMZ photographer caught up with the Grove's owner, billionaire Rick Caruso, outside a restaurant this week to ask him whether he would consider banning the fellow billionaire from the Grove in light of a recently released video documenting Trump saying disturbing, violating things about women. Caruso told the photographer, "I would be happy to do that."
Caruso, who also developed Americana at Brand and is behind the makeover of downtown Pacific Palisades, is a Republican (though he’s been an Independent and supported a couple Democratic governors) who threw his lot in with John Kasich in the early days of the GOP race for the presidency, The Hollywood Reporter wrote earlier this year. And even back then, Caruso didn’t like Trump for president, telling THR, "I clearly think he would be a bad candidate."
Caruso elaborated on what he considers to be Trump's shortcomings in the TMZ video, saying, "If you want to be in public office ... you’ve got to be compassionate, you’ve gotta be a gentleman, you’ve gotta be professional ... I just don’t see him being any of that."
He noted that Trump seemed like "a pretty angry human being," adding, "I’m not into that."
Another one of LA's biggest developers, Geoff Palmer, feels totally different: He's one of Trump's biggest donors.
- Trump’s Persona Non Grata at the Grove [TMZ]
- 12 Hours at The Grove on the Saturday Before Christmas [Curbed LA]
- Grove Owner Rick Caruso Builds Malls Like He's Making Movies [Curbed LA]
- Tiny Wall Put Up Around Donald Trump's Walk of Fame Star [Curbed LA]
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