Donald Trump Claims He Can’t Be Racist Because He Has "So Many Black Friends"

During his presidential campaign, in 2016 and at present, former President Donald Trump made several controversial statements. One such statement came recently during an exclusive conversation with the news startup, Semafor, on Friday, June 14.

The former President dismissed claims of being a racist by emphasizing that he has "so many Black friends", as reported by HuffPost.

During the interview, the host asked Trump about what he thought of Black voters calling him a racist. Trump answered, “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. They would not be with me for two minutes if they thought I was racist — and I’m not racist!” The host agreed, sharing instances of the recent endorsements Trump received from Black celebrities who sang his praises, Semafor reported.

In response, Trump opined, “They see what I’ve done and they see strength, they want strength, okay? They want strength, they want security. They want jobs, they want to have their jobs. They don’t want to have millions of people come and take their jobs. And we — that’s what’s happening. These people that are coming into our country are taking jobs away from African Americans and they know it.”

Trump's emphatic argument to the news host can be attributed to race-baiting. Not missing an opportunity to bring up his 'rigged' guilty verdict, Trump also alleged that Black Americans speak well about him because of their shared understanding of his legal battles.

He said, “I think it’s through osmosis. They see what’s happening. And a lot of them feel that similar things have happened to them. I mean, they’ve expressed that to me very plainly and very clearly. They see what’s happened to them.” His remarks were however heavily criticized by Rev. Al Sharpton.

As reported by The Hill, during an interview with MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on Friday, Sharpton asked voters to evaluate Trump's track record on issues related to Black Americans. His statement came after Wallace asked him about the media's approach to covering Trump's controversial statements.

Sharpton argued, “I think that we cover it by the record. I think that we should not [take the] bait…the bait of having to prove Donald Trump is a racist."

He added, “Just look at his record. He has always race-baited...All you got to do is look at his record and I’ve said to any of those that support him, show me where he was on the right side of any race issue." He concluded, "I believe he’s a racist. I don’t believe everybody that votes for him is a racist, but I believe that every racist votes for Donald Trump."