Donald Trump’s saying that Black people like him because of his indictments is “as racist as they come,” ABC News President Kimberly Godwin said.
While speaking at the Black Conservative Federation Honors Gala in Columbia, South Carolina last Friday night, Trump suggested that Black voters are more likely to support him after his four criminal indictments because like him, they get indicted a lot.
“And then I got indicted a second time and then a third time and a fourth time!” Trump said at the event. “And a lot of people said that that’s why the Black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against. And they actually viewed me as– I’m being discriminated against. It’s been pretty amazing.”
Godwin, who is Black, condemned Trump’s remarks in an email to staff the day after, according to Semafor.
“No matter one’s politics, the fact that a person running for President of the United States made these remarks period – but also to a public crowd – and with so many black people present – and that they stand with him – is mind blowing. Shocking,” she wrote.
“These remarks are as racist as they come,” Godwin added.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also condemned Trump’s remarks calling them “repugnant and divisive“. President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond called Trump’s comments “just plain racist.”
Trump is facing 91 felony charges across four criminal indictments. He was indicted in New York City over an alleged hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. He was charged in Washington, D.C., for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump also faces election subversion charges in the state of Georgia. He was also charged in Florida over his alleged mishandling of classified documents after he left office and obstruction of justice.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The trial in the hush money case—Trump’s first criminal trial—is set to begin on March 25.
