The brother of Michael Jackson has rebuked Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for referencing the late singer at a town hall Thursday, and speculating about his "loss of confidence."
Trump made the comments at a CNN town hall event, after being asked about his favorite music. Trump said Jackson was "a very good friend of mine."
"He was an unbelievably talented guy, he lost his confidence. He lost tremendous confidence because of, honestly bad, bad, bad surgery," Trump said. "He had the worst — He had people that did numbers on him that were just unbelievable, facially."
Jackson’s brother, Jermaine Jackson, lashed out at Trump on Twitter Friday, accusing him of dropping the late singer’s name to get votes.
"'Friends’ don’t pay tribute by peddling b.s. theories about Michael’s 'loss in confidence'. This fool Trump needs to sit down," Jermaine Jackson said. "Michael’s confidence was affected by the pressures, injustice and vitriol of external circumstances. Period."
Trump on CNN also called Jackson "an unbelievable talent" and "one of the truly most talented people."
Michael Jackson died in 2009 of what a medical examiner said was a reaction to powerful sedatives, and his doctor was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Dr. Conrad Murray served about two years of a four-year sentence and was released.
