Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate swears at journalist over Trump dinner inquiry

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has sworn at a journalist and stormed out of a press conference amid questions about a US visit earlier this year.

Mr Tate claimed to have had dinner with US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump in February at Mar-a-Lago, the president's famed Florida holiday retreat.

The ABC later uncovered inconsistencies over whether Mr Tate had actually dined with the president, with the White House saying the president and first lady "did not have dinner with that group".

At a press conference today, an ABC journalist questioned Mr Tate about the bill for the widely reported meeting.

When asked whether he had had dinner with Mr Trump, Mr Tate said: "We all know that."

Asked how long the dinner with Mr Trump went for, he said: "I've already answered yes, and the matter's private so I'm not going to elaborate much further than that."

Mr Tate was read a statement from The Trump Organization, which said the mayor's "account of what occurred is a complete fabrication".

"Any suggestion that the president had dinner with Mayor Tate, or that he attended an event that was directly or indirectly connected to or associated with Mayor Tate or his event, is categorically false," a Trump Organization spokesperson said in a statement.

"While the president was on the patio, he briefly said hello to the mayor's table, as he typically does with guests at Mar-a-Lago."

Mr Tate responded, "All I'm telling you is what I believe is correct".

A business associate of Mr Tate's told local media that he was at Mar-a-Lago and backed the Gold Coast politician's account of the dinner.

When a journalist asked how much the trip cost, Mr Tate again said it was "private" before asking if the reporter was from the ABC.

He then stormed away, saying, "F**k off, yeah f**k off, I've had enough of that."