23 October 2023 , 12:27
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New audio recordings have revealed that former US president Donald Trump asked his wife Melania Trump to walk around in a bikini, it has been reported.
The recordings were aired by 60 Minutes Australia on Sunday, and other private comments were also heard between the Australian billionaire businessman Anthony Pratt and the former president.
During Trump's 2020 presidential campaign, Pratt - chairman of a multinational paper and packaging company - carried on building his relationship with Trump, which began while he was in office.
Pratt's wealth bought him a Mar-a-Lago membership and frequent proximity to the former president.
A joint investigation between 60 Minutes Australia , The Sydney Morning Herald , and The Age uncovered the audio recordings of Pratt talking about his experiences and relationship with the former president.
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Trump and former first lady Melania Trump (Getty Images)It comes after reports by ABC News and The New York Times found that Trump shared classified information about U.S. submarines that had nuclear capability with Pratt at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
The secretly recorded conversations of Pratt show him expressing admiration for Trump alongside surprise for how often he disregarded presidential norms.
In one recording, Pratt said: "He knows exactly what to say and what not to say so that he avoids jail, but gets so close to it that it looks to everyone when he’s breaking the law."
Another of the conversations Pratt shared was discussing the former president and the former first lady.
In the recordings, Pratt says that Trump asked Melania to walk around the pool at Mar-a-Lago in a bikini "so all the other guys could get a look at what they were missing".
According to Pratt's audio, Melania said back to him: "I'll do that when you walk around with me in your bikini".
In a statement to the Times , a Trump spokesman slammed Smith’s prosecutors claiming the revelations of Pratt recordings came from “sources which totally lack proper context and relevant information".
Speaking to 60 Minutes Australia, Peter Hartcher, political and international editor at The Sydney Morning Herald said: "It certainly confirms for us and reminds us that Donald Trump is quite happy to demean his own wife in front of other people. Is that the character you really want in your next president."
He added that the Pratt tapes could also be part of a public interest role in the debate over Trump's candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.