Donald Trump: 'I Never Did Business in Cuba'

Donald Trump on Thursday denied doing business in Cuba after a report claimed the Republican presidential nominee violated the U.S. embargo on the country — an allegation that could have political consequences, if not legal ones.

"I never did business in Cuba. There’s this guy who has a very bad reputation as a reporter. You see what his record is, he wrote something about me in Cuba," Trump said in an interview with New Hampshire station NH1 on Thursday night. "No, I never did anything in Cuba. I never did a deal in Cuba."

According to a report from Newsweek, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts paid at least $68,000 in 1998 to a consulting firm called Seven Arrows Investment and Development that went to Cuba to find business opportunities for the New York businessman. The consulting firm later said the trip had been taken on behalf of a Catholic charity.

In a Thursday morning appearance on ABC's "The View," Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway appeared to contradict Trump's claim, saying that the GOP candidate had, in fact, spent money in Cuba but noted that "he decided not to invest there."

"I think they paid money, as I understand from the story, in 1998 — and we’re not supposed to talk about years ago when it comes to the Clintons," Conway said.

Hillary Clinton admonished Trump on Thursday, saying he had been "putting his business interest ahead of the laws of the United States."

"He has consistently misled in responding to questions about whether he was attempting to do business in Cuba," Clinton told reporters on her plane. "So this adds to the long list of actions and statements that raise doubts about his temperament and qualification to be president and commander in chief."

While an exploration to do business in Cuba nearly 20 years ago may not have much of an effect on voter opinions on a national scale, it is likely to have an impact on one key state: Florida.

"It is never a good thing when voters feel played and find out the candidate they are supporting is a hypocrite on an issue that carries the emotion that Cuba policy does," Ana Navarro, a Florida-based conservative strategist opposed to Trump, told The Washington Post.

If Trump looked to expand his business in Cuba during the embargo, it's a far cry from his campaign rhetoric earlier this month. While speaking before a crowd in Miami, Trump slammed President Obama for normalizing relations with Cuba.

"All the concessions that Barack Obama has granted the Castro regime were done through executive order, which means the next president can reverse them — and that I will do unless the Castro regime meets our demands. Not my demands. Our demands," Trump said.

"Those demands are religious and political freedom for the Cuban people. And the freeing of political prisoners," Trump said, hitting the pro-embargo points.

Former Republican primary rival Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said the Trump campaign should address the specific questions about the claims but refrained from commenting further.

"The article makes some very serious and troubling allegations. I will reserve judgment until we know all the facts and Donald has been given the opportunity to respond," Rubio said in a statement.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Commons