President Trump told an anecdote about his firing of an environmental consultant, drawing an enthusiastic response from officials he was addressing at the National Association of Realtors Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo in New York Friday.

"I fired his ass so fast," Trump said, sparking a roar of laughter from the crowd. "True story."

Trump said he had a "beautiful" piece of land, about 216 acres, and had planned to develop it.

"They had a little area where water would sort of form when it rained, and all of a sudden I found out that I can't build on the land," Trump told the audience. "Does that make sense to you? I can't build on the land because it was considered, for all intents and purposes, a lake. And how did people find out about the lake? My consultant told them because this way you have to use your environmental consultant longer, pay him more money to get you out of the jam. Isn't that nice? I fired his ass so fast," Trump said.

Trump's signature line on his hit reality television show, NBC's "The Apprentice," was "You're fired."