Donna Connor; Dave J Hogan/Getty ImagesJermaine Jackson is not happy about recent remarks Donald Trump made about his brother, legendary singer Michael Jackson.
The presidential candidate and GOP frontrunner had said at CNN's Republican presidential town hall in Columbia, South Carolina Thursday he "knew the real story" of the King of Pop. Michael died at age 50 in 2009 from an overdose of the anesthetic propofol, administered by his private doctor, who served two years in jail for involuntary manslaughter.
Trump, 69, had said the singer was a "very good friend" who lived in his Trump Tower in New York City for a "long period of time."
"I knew the real story of Michael Jackson," he said. "He was an unbelievably talented guy. He lost his confidence. And he lost tremendous confidence because of, honestly, bad, bad, bad surgery...And, you know, believe it or not, when you lose your confidence in something, you can even lose your talent."
"He had people that did numbers on him that were just unbelievable, facially, and, you know, the plastic surgeons," he added. "And, you know, believe it or not, when you lose your confidence in something, you can even lose your talent."
"'Friends' don't pay tribute by peddling b.s. theories about Michael's 'loss in confidence,'" Jermaine, 61, tweeted Friday. "This fool Trump needs to sit down."
"Michael's confidence was affected by the pressures, injustice and vitriol of external circumstances. Period," he said, adding, "Name-dropping Michael don't make you cool and won't win you votes. Especially when using botched facts."
Trump has not responded to Jermaine.
The politician and real estate mogul, who is running for president for the first time, had also praised Michael in the past. In an essay he penned in Time magazine after the singer's death, Trump called him a "very good friend," a "genius" and "the greatest entertainer I've ever known."
"He was also a really good person, and when you got to know him, you realized how smart he was," he said. "He was brilliant."