In an interview with Semafor, released Friday, former President Donald Trump was asked about Black voters who label him racist. His response was at once ridiculous and not remotely surprising.
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“I have so many Black friends that if I were a racist, they wouldn’t be friends, they would know better than anybody, and fast,” Trump stated. “They would not be with me for two minutes if they thought I was racist — and I’m not racist!”
The “friends” he was most likely referring to include the likes of Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. They are all vying for the position of Trump’s vice president by betraying Black people with their dangerous political rhetoric.
However, despite what these men think or are trying to convince others, Trump’s history of racism goes back as far as the 1970s, when his real estate company refused to rent to Black people.
There was also Trump calling for the execution of the Central Park Five, deeming African nations “shithole countries” and allegedly using the N-word while filming his reality show “The Apprentice.”
In Trump’s mind, he is a perpetual victim. After being convicted of 34 felonies last month for falsifying business documents, he also repeated claims in the interview that Black people relate to him for being discriminated against in the criminal justice system.
“I think it’s through osmosis. They see what’s happening. And a lot of them feel that similar things have happened to them,” Trump said. “I mean, they’ve expressed that to me very plainly and very clear. They see what’s happened to them.”
Trump has worked to court Black voters, but it appears many see through his nonsense: A NBC News poll from April revealed that Biden was leading Trump when it comes to Black voters 71 percent to 13 percent.
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