Tom Arnold has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump on Twitter, where on Saturday the Ottumwa-born actor and comedian told a story of a trip he claimed to have taken to the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles with Trump that highlighted his animus toward immigrants.
(1) Was a beautiful LA Sat nite & i met Donald Trump at Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Playboy Mansion was only 3 miles away but he made our driver take his famous short cut. 2 hrs later we pulled up to line of limos. Trump fired the driver & we got out to walk up the unusually long
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) February 11, 2018
(2) Playboy Mansion driveway. Donald was in contact with his Playmate girlfriend inside so I figured he knew exactly where we were going. I figured wrong. Big Don led us down the opposite end of the press line then instead of walking through the front door to greet Hef we entered
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) February 11, 2018
In a series of six tweets, Arnold said Trump mistakenly entered the mansion through a service door instead of the main entrance, stepped on the slippery floor, and saw his loafer fly off into the grotto hot tub, from which a “nice non-rapist Mexican retrieved” it. “This might be the root of his immigrant hate because me and all the kitchen staff were dying,” he tweeted, adding that “since no VIP’s or Trump Playmate girlfriends witnessed this very human moment we figured all would be well” until Trump spotted Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and demanded he fire the immigrant workers.
(3) through the service entrance by the grotto which was so slippery one of Mr Trump’s slip on’s came off and went into the hot tub. This might be the root of his immigrant hate because me and all the kitchen staff were dying. A nice non-rapist Mexican retrieved the loafer and
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) February 11, 2018
(4) another gentlemen dried it sufficiently and since no VIP’s or Trump Playmate girlfriends witnessed this very human moment we figured all would be well until I watched him storm up to Hef mad as hell and point back our way. Seems like he was a fan of rules and regulations
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) February 11, 2018
Arnold claimed he later approached Hefner to vouch for the workers, to which Hefner replied by saying, “Tom, Trump is so dump [sic] he’s been having me fire those same guys for 30 years.” (Hefner, according to Arnold, told Trump he’d fire them but never did.)
(5) back in those days. At least as far as the grotto was concerned. Also I used to sell shoes and Trump wore shoes 2 sizes too big. What’s that about?:) Donald’s girlfriend Karen came so I decided to scoot but before I left I cornered Hef & made sure he knew the workers hadn’t
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) February 11, 2018
(6) done anything wrong incase Trump tried to get them fired. Hef smiled said Trump told him to fire them all like he always does and he said of course anything for you Mr Trump like he always does. “Tom, Trump is so dump he’s been having me fire those same guys for 30 years.”
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) February 11, 2018
Later, Arnold tweeted a photo of himself sitting at a table with Trump at an unspecified location and promised more stories about the president.
Guys next Saturday G-d willing there is a next Saturday I will tell the wonderful life affirming against all odds story the President is sharing with me involving potentially us & women at the next table sneaking upstairs for a few. “Trust me, our wives wont miss us” #Hero pic.twitter.com/SkB4FH3q4G
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) February 11, 2018
Arnold’s stories about Trump, while consistent with his character, are unverified — something the actor’s made into a bit of a habit.
Last September, after Hefner’s death, Arnold told the Hollywood tabloid website TMZ about his trip to the Playboy Mansion with Trump, where “I was not the pervy guy.”
And, potentially far more significantly, before the 2016 election, Arnold claimed to have seen a copy of a widely rumored outtakes tape from the set of The Apprentice, the reality TV show Trump starred on before running for president, that allegedly includes footage of Trump saying the N-word. The show’s main producer, Mark Burnett, has reportedly closely guarded the tape from being released; one television executive claimed that anyone who leaked the tape would be hit with a $5 million penalty for violating a confidentiality agreement. The month after Trump won, Arnold said he had a copy of footage with Trump “saying every dirty, every offensive, racist thing ever,” but hadn’t released it because he didn’t think Trump would win and the people who’d sent it to him feared for their careers. He hasn’t provided any evidence that he indeed has a copy of the tape.
In January, Arnold added to Trump tape rumors, telling the Chicago Tribune that in 2016 he spoke with Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel — the brother of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel — about alleged “embarrassing, unseen footage of Trump at the Miss Universe pageant” that Emanuel told him he wouldn’t release because “we lost so much money with Bill Cosby and Trump is still a client.” Through a spokesperson, Emanuel denied ever having the conversation with Arnold, said “there is no embarrassing unseen footage — we looked,” and added that Trump hadn’t been a client of his for the past two years.
Arnold grew up in Ottumwa and later attended both Indian Hills Community College and the University of Iowa before pursuing a career in comedy and acting. His younger sister, Lori Kaye Arnold, was featured prominently in the book Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town, about the decline of the nearby town of Oelwein.
