Donald Trump calls Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen ‘a creep’ and ‘a phony guy’ 

A giant inflatable in the shape Borat floats on a barge beneath Tower Bridge promoting the release of the new Sacha Baron Cohen film

Credit: PA

US President Donald Trump said on Friday he has not been a fan of Sacha Baron Cohen — even before a clip from the British comedian’s new Borat movie forced his lawyer Rudy Giuliani into an awkward explanation.

Asked about the clip — which shows Giuliani in a faked "interview" with an attractive and flirtatious young woman — while speaking to journalists aboard Air Force One, Mr Trump said "I don’t know what happened."

"But years ago, you know, he tried to scam me. And I was the only one who said no way. That’s a phony guy. And I don’t find him funny."

Mr Trump said the incident happened about 15 years ago, meaning he was likely referring to Baron Cohen’s 2003 interview with him while playing Ali G, where the wannabe gangster pitches his latest business venture to Mr Trump — special gloves for eating ice cream.

"To me he was a creep," Mr Trump said.

(1) The Borat video is a complete fabrication. I was tucking in my shirt after taking off the recording equipment.

At no time before, during, or after the interview was I ever inappropriate. If Sacha Baron Cohen implies otherwise he is a stone-cold liar.

— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) October 21, 2020

While the plot of the new Borat film is under wraps, word of Baron Cohen’s latest outrageous ambushes on unsuspecting participants has spread like wildfire.

On Wednesday Mr Giuliani issued an angry denial after being tricked into a fake hotel room "interview" with a young woman.

In the film, the encounter appears to leave the 76-year-old former New York mayor in a highly compromising situation, caught with his hands down his pants in the bedroom.

Mr Giuliani said on Wednesday the scene was "a complete fabrication".

"I was tucking in my shirt after taking off the recording equipment. At no time before, during, or after the interview was I ever inappropriate," he tweeted.

"If Sacha Baron Cohen implies otherwise he is a stone-cold liar."

Mr Trump made the comments after taking off from Pensacola, Florida on his way to West Palm Beach.

The Republican president, former reality TV star and real estate mogul launched an intense last-ditch reelection push on Friday in Florida.

Polls show him well behind Democratic challenger Joe Biden ahead of the November 3 presidential election.