Republican presidential hopeful businessman Donald Trump speaks to guests gathered for a rally on July 25, 2015 in Oskaloosa, Iowa. During his last visit to the state Trump sparked controversy when he said Senator John McCain (R-AZ), a former POW, was not a war hero.
Donald Trump and Michael Jackson: A history
01:07 - Source: CNN
New York CNN  — 

If you’re a celebrity living in one of Donald Trump’s properties, then lucky you, you’re qualified to be a “good friend” of his. That’s how it worked for the late king of pop, Michael Jackson.

During an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, Trump compared himself to Jackson, saying that, like Jackson, people are talking about him without actually knowing him.

“You know when Michael Jackson died, I knew him very well, everybody was talking about Michael Jackson, but they didn’t know him.”

This raised some eyebrows, not necessarily for the comparison, but the idea that Trump knew Jackson “very well.” After all, Jackson did live in some of Trump’s buildings.

Digging through the archives of CNN’s Larry King, it’s clear Trump had an affinity for Jackson. “I went to Madison Square Garden, and I watched Michael Jackson perform, and do the moon walk across the stage, there was no entertainer like him,” Trump said. Through the years, Trump repeatedly references Jackson as a “good friend” who lives in many of his buildings.

“He follows me around in the sense that he likes what I have.”