Bret Hart Recalls Meeting Donald Trump: ‘I Held Him In High Regard’
Nearly thirty years later, Bret Hart has good memories of his first face-to-face meeting with the current U.S. President, Donald Trump.
During an interview with Forbes, "The Hitman" recalled meeting Trump at WrestleMania IV, which was held in Atlantic City, NJ. At the time, Trump's Atlantic City hotel/casino, Trump Plaza, was the main sponsor of the event and billed as the host venue, even though both WrestleMania IV and WrestleMania V technically occurred at the Atlantic City Convention Hall, which was next door to Trump Plaza.
Hart, who competed in a battle royal at WrestleMania IV that also saw him turn face, said the following about meeting Trump:
"I do remember meeting 'The Donald.' He seemed to really enjoy the WrestleMania 4 battle royal. He watched me take a very hard front turnbuckle bump and it seemed to stun him that I wasn't seriously hurt. Backstage, Trump gave me a big smile and a handshake. A few minutes later, I asked him if he could pose with my dad, myself and the Anvil for a photo. He was very nice about it, even allowing us to take several shots. I liked him."
One year later, at WrestleMania V, Hart and Trump crossed paths again when WWE's marquee event returned to Atlantic City.
"The next year, when I met him again backstage, he asked how the photo from the year before had turned out," Hart said. "He offered to do another and so, yet again, we took a nice photo together. He was always nice and had a long memory. I held him in high regard."
Trump was an integral part of WrestleMania 23, nearly 10 years ago, when he was part of an on-camera rivalry with Vince McMahon billed as the "Battle of the Billionaires" where each man put his hair on the line as the stipulation for a match between Bobby Lashley and Umaga.
