The White House on Tuesday slammed former President Donald Trump’s claim that his multiple criminal indictments have strengthened his appeal among Black Americans because their community can relate to being criminally prosecuted unfairly.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre decried the former president’s comments as “profane” and “repugnant” and accused the former president of playing upon “racist stereotypes.”
“To compare the long painful history of abuse and discrimination suffered by Black Americans to something that is totally different for self-serving purposes, that is what we saw from the former president,” she said at the daily White House press briefing.
Ms. Jean-Pierre made clear that President Biden was aware of Mr. Trump’s remarks and that, as press secretary, she was speaking on behalf of him.
She said Mr. Trump’s rhetoric “tears apart a painful history” and is “absolutely repugnant.”
Mr. Trump, who is expected to square off against Mr. Biden for the presidency in November, made the comments over the weekend while speaking at the Black Conservative Federation Gala in Columbia, South Carolina.
While trying to court Black American voters, Mr. Trump suggested that the 91 criminal indictments against him have strengthened his appeal among the Black community.
“I got indicted a second time and a third time and a fourth time 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,” Mr. Trump said to applause.
He asserted that Black people are starting to turn to him instead of Mr. Biden because “what’s happening to me, happens to them,” and equated his criminal prosecutions to the historic discrimination Black Americans have faced.
Mr. Trump is charged with 91 felony counts, including racketeering, conspiracy to obstruct justice and falsifying business records. He has insisted he’s innocent and portrayed himself as the victim of a politically charged criminal justice system.